The Silver Dragon
by Little Miss Slytherclaw
Summary: Hermione was done. Absolutely, positively done, and when she storms off in a huff, she finds herself in a place she shouldn't be, standing before the most magnificent beast she's ever seen. For some reason, the mysterious dragon doesn't attack. An unlikely friendship forms and Hermione lets the dragon in on her innermost thoughts and feelings, but was that a mistake? 7th year AU.
1. Chapter 1

**New story! I think this one is going to be a three part?... but I'm not sure. It might be longer, it might be shorter. I doubt its going to get very long though. Hopefully, however long it is, it's enjoyable! Please let me know! Any comments, especially constructive criticism, will be welcome and really, really wanted :)**

 **If you haven't already, check out my other stories (mainly my one-shot as I jumped the gun on Memories and it might be a little while until I iron out all of the crinkles), and let me know what you think of them!**

 **Disclaimer: I am but a lowly servant. I cannot claim anything in this universe of Harry Potter. ALL HAIL J.K. ROWLING!**

* * *

 **Part 1**

Hermione Granger was done. Absolutely, positively done. She couldn't have been more done. So she yelled it, surprisingly loud for her considering she was in the library, but she honestly couldn't have cared less. She was done.

'Hermione' came the pathetic whimper of Ron Weasley, after Hermione had turned him down again. 'You said you'd help me with my ho-'

He was cut off. And shoved. Hermione actually shoved him.

'I know perfectly well what I said Ronald' She yelled, daring him to continue his whining. 'But Merlin! I've been doing your homework for seven years! Seven!'

Ron was backing away now, his eyes as wide as the group of first years over two tables. Fortunately, for Ron, the eleven year olds were the only ones to witness Hermione having a go at him, but unfortunately, for Ron, gossip travels fast at Hogwarts.

Hermione continued.

'You are a fully grown wizard. Figure it out for yourself. I'm done'

And with that, she stormed out of the library, ignoring Madam Pince as she urged Hermione to be quiet. With a huff, she began walking blindly to Godric knows where, and didn't stop until she realized she was in the Forbidden Forest. Judging by the amount of light filtering through the trees, she'd have to say she was fairly deep in, and that just frustrated her further.

So what did she do? Possibly the stupidest thing someone could do when they were unwanted in un-known territory, hordes of creatures just hidden from her sight. She screamed. Isn't that what people do when they are just done? Yell out in frustration? Kick the nearest thing?

The nearest thing happened to be a rather large tree, and if she had been in her right mind, Hermione would've seen the deep claw marks and used that brilliant brain of hers and ran. But she wasn't in her right mind, so she didn't see the claw marks. She also happened to miss the large silvery eyes staring at her from the depths of the forest. So she did what she shouldn't have and sat down on a fallen tree, staring angrily at the forest floor.

'Stupid git. Who does he think he is? He doesn't own me. I'm not his personal tutor. I'm his friend aren't I? Shouldn't he treat me more than just a walking textbook? Dear Merlin what the hell is the matter with me that my best friend doesn't even treat me like a person?'

The mutterings kept going for a while, all containing similar content, and she had probably been sitting there for half an hour before she heard an inhuman snort.

'Bollocks' She muttered, closing her eyes for a short minute, finally remembering that the forest is forbidden for a reason.

To understand what she was up against, she turned around, dreading what she would find, which just so happened to be so much worse than she had imagined. Before her stood the most majestic and terrifying beast she had ever seen.

A dragon.

She wasn't sure what breed, but it was silver in color, flickering a dark obsidian every once in a while, and basically gave an impression of valuable. It was rather small in size, for a dragon, only a bit larger than a hippogriff, but Hermione suspected that if its wings weren't tucked in so tight, it wouldn't be able to fit through the trees.

Hermione sighed. She knew she really should be terrified. Quaking in her shoes, gripping her skirt in fear, but she was far too busy being done. She just didn't care anymore.

'What?' She demanded boldly, her lip twitching ever so slightly. 'You want something from me too?'

At her words, the dragon cocked its head, tail swishing behind it ever so slightly. Hermione frowned and sat back down, once again, something that she probably shouldn't have done.

She even stayed when the dragon moved. Although the beast was silent, Hermione could sense its movements. They were graceful, and Hermione would've been surprised by it due to its size… If she wasn't so done.

It settled at her feet and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Absent mindedly she began to stroke its head, smiling when she could feel it vibrating ever so slightly. It seemed as if it were purring.

'You really are a beautiful thing' She said softly, finally feeling the anger and tension leaving her body as she slid her fingers over the dragons smooth scales, and she could swear it was smirking, but dragons don't smirk do they?

* * *

 **AN 2.0: The update is to fix a spelling error someone kindly pointed out to me. Thank you! This is why I need a Beta people. Does anyone want to be my Beta?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it has taken me so long to update! I had five tests/exams this week, so I was a bit shot, but Spring Break has officially started so... WRITING TIME!**

 **As always, let me know what you think, and maybe give my other stories a read!**

 **Disclaimer: Who owns Harry Potter? Certainly not me!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

'Sterlyn' Hermione called, her eyes scanning the small clearing as she searched for the dragon she had had the pleasure of meeting the day before. Of course, the dragon didn't know that Hermione had named him, but Hermione just had a feeling that the magnificent beast would understand. After all, the name fits him very well. Pure, of high quality, refining silver; it all seemed to fit.

She felt the presence of the beast and grinned before turning around, facing the creature with absolutely no fear. How could she fear the soul that stayed with her for hours the day before? He had even nuzzled her shoulder when she started crying. Not that she'd ever admit to crying.

'Like the name?' She asked, keeping her eyes on the creature as she sat on the same fallen tree as she had the day before. She had dubbed in her tree, in their clearing.

A lot can happen in a day. Now that exact area, at least in Hermione's head, belonged to them; the dragon and her.

The dragon snorted and sat at her feet, curling his feet under him and folding his wings tightly to his side. Within moments, the pair were in the exact same position as they had been less than twenty-four hours later, Hermione's fingers slowly tracing the flickering silver scales on Sterlyn's head. When she moved to the base of his neck, and he shuddered, Hermione grinned and kept her antics up.

Within a few minutes, with the steady, calming movements, both Sterlyn and Hermione were visibly relaxed. Hermione's thoughts weren't as pressing either, and she found herself smiling lightly.

It was like a therapy session for both parties involved, and they both loved it.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'Where were you?'

Harry's voice caught Hermione off guard and she couldn't help but jump a little. She felt like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar as she closed the door of the Entrance Hall.

'I was just out on a walk' She countered, trying to keep her voice as even as possible.

'And you didn't think to inform me?' He hadn't caught the hesitance in her tone.

'I wasn't aware that I had to ask for your permission'

She couldn't help her voice for taking on a slightly harsh tone as she brushed past The Chosen One in an attempt to get to the Gryffindor table. This what she was talking about to Sterlyn; this is what she was sick of.

'You could've been hurt!' Harry exclaimed as he chased after her. He had barely touched her shoulder when she rounded on him, completely forgetting about their very, very public setting.

'I'm a big girl' She sneered condescendingly, and Harry would've continued their argument if he hadn't been interrupted by a sharp laughter. Instead of retorting to Hermione's latest words, he chose to snarl at the body of interruption.

'What do you want Malfoy' He growled, rounding on the smirking, blond pureblood.

'Oh nothing' The Slytherin replied, his laughter still evident in his usually cold voice. 'Just finding this little domestic quite entertaining. Have to say I agree with Granger here.'

As Malfoy scanned Hermione, then gave her a slight wink, Hermione couldn't help but narrow her eyes. What was he playing at? Despite Harry spluttering angrily, Malfoy kept his eyes on Hermione's. It unnerved her, quite a lot honestly, but she'd rather die than let him know that, so she raised her right eyebrow ever so slightly.

'I'm sure' Malfoy started slowly, his eyes deepening to a dark obsidian. Hermione shivered. 'that your little bushy-haired friend here could handle any _beast_ she were to come across, Potter'

Hermione's eyes narrowed a bit more. If she were to make an assumption, she'd say that the blond git knew about her recent trips to the forest, but there simply was no way.

He was just getting on her nerves right?

When he didn't get a response, Malfoy turned to glance at Harry, who was glaring at him with a burning venom. It amused him.

'Well, then, go on. Get back to your meaningless argument' Malfoy sighed, and with a final smirk, he was off. Hermione was frowning and watching his retreating form when Harry cleared his throat.

'What was that all about?'

His voice brought her out of her Slytherin induced trance, and she shook her head, attempting to clear her head.

'I have absolutely no idea' She answered, fighting the violently strong urge to retrain her eyes on the Pureblood.


	3. Update

**Hi guys!**

 **Not that I expect any of you to be super hurt or whatever by this, but my computer is dead. More or less. It's broken and I havent been able to use it for the past week (which, let me tell you... it has made homework awful). As of right now, I am using my phone. If any of you want, I can write/upload chapters on my little phone, but they might not be as strong as my usual chapters. That's up to you. I miss writing... it's only been a wwek, but I miss it. So I'd be willing to do on my phone if you guys think that's a good idea. So please let me know!**

 **As of right now, I'm working on getting it fixed, and it's looking semi-hopeful, semi... so hopefully this won't be going on for too long. So yeah. Let me know what you think. Check out my stories... the usual. I promise I'm not just going to say goodbye. Hopefully on Wed. I'll be able to use one of the computer's at my school to write... too bad I can't take one home with me XD**

 **Alright. Let me know what you think... I'll be back soon and I'm almost always online, even if I'm not posting, so feel free to message me. You'll get a responsecond :p**


	4. Chapter 3

**MY COMPUTER IS FIXED! My dad and I literally took it apart and fixed something to do with the main disk drive and its connection to the motherboard. It was pretty cool.**

 **Anyways, here is a new chapter. Hopefully it lives up to expectations XD. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and sorry to those who didn't get a response. If you don't have an account, or aren't logged in, I can't respond... Sowwy.. Thank you anyways though!**

 **As always, feedback on this chapter would be greatly appreciated!**

 **Diclaimer: I don't own anything... Except a broken time turner... and a broken marauders map mug... and a copy of Ginny's wand... and a copy of all of the books... and... It'll take too long to say all of the HP merch I own.. but it's all merch! NOTHING MORE!**

* * *

 **Part 3**

It had officially been three weeks since Hermione's first encounter with Sterlyn, and she hadn't let a single day pass without going into the woods and spending all of her free time curled up next to the creature. As usual, Hermione had her book with her as she traipsed into the forbidden forest, the corners of her mouth lifted, not even the sight of the Thestrals grazing nearby altering her mood.

Upon reaching their spot, Hermione was rather surprised to find Sterlyn already present, as he usually only shows up after Hermione had been sitting for a few minutes. Even more shocking, though, was how angry he seemed.

Trees lay in disarray around him, there was smoke curling from a blackened spot on the ground, his shoulders were heaving, and he was snarling at something unseen across the clearing. Their entire spot was a mess. All except Hermione's usual seat. That particular fallen tree had no claw marks, no blackened pieces of bark, no mess. Hermione smiled softly at the thought of him recognizing their friendship, though she could tell he was as done as she had been a few weeks prior, he still didn't ruin her seat.

'Sterlyn?' She called softly, watching as the large beast turned around, his eyes dark. All of his muscles were tense, even his scales seemed rigid, and for the first time since their meetings began, Hermione felt a twinge of fear. She scolded herself for it, mentally, when the dragon's dark eyes softened.

'Are you alright?' She asked, taking a cautious step forward and placing her hand gently on his snout. He visibly relaxed and Hermione smiled and stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She tightened her arms and his throat rumbled slightly, she hoped in contentment.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'What was Malfoy's deal earlier?' Ron asked, his mouth full, as usual, with a bit of everything on the table. Hermione sighed and refilled her fork.

'How am I supposed to know Ron?' She questioned before taking her small bite of Shepard's Pie, her style of eating sharp in contrast compared to her red-headed friend.

Ron shrugged and Hermione rolled her eyes. She was about to take another bite, but was interrupted.

'Hey 'Mione.' Harry said, sitting down beside the witch, reaching across her plate to get to the potatoes. 'Do you know what was wrong with Malfoy during lunch?'

'Good Godric' Hermione groaned. 'Why would I know anything that is going on in the Ferret's life?'

With an annoyed snort, she tossed her fork onto her plate and instead reached for her pumpkin juice. Harry shrugged and began to eat.

'I dunno' He said with his mouth full 'You just kinda know everything'

'Everything in books' She corrected and Ron laughed. With that squared away, Hermione turned ever so slightly to glance at the Slytherin table, where she found Malfoy with a book in hand. Strangely, though, he wasn't actually reading, and Hermione frowned when she met his eyes.

She turned away quickly.

'What do you suppose it was about?' She asked her two friends, who were both still eating as if this meal were their last.

'I heard he had a fight with his father' Lavender Brown cut in when the two boys proved to be useless in answering Hermione's inquiries. Hermione's frown deepened.

'How? You guy don't have phones'

'Phones?'

'Never mind. But how?'

Lavender shrugged, but Hermione still got her answer, which came from Parvati Patil.

'Lucius was up at the school this morning, meeting with Dumbledore or something. How did you guys miss him?' Parvati sounded so surprised, it almost made Hermione laugh. Almost.

'It's Saturday Pavs.' Harry said with a small grin. Fortunately he had already swallowed his previous bite of food. 'You can't expect us to pay attention to anything on a Saturday'

That made Hermione laugh, though a quick glance back at Malfoy, who was still looking at her, stopped her display very quickly.

'He seems to be calmer now though' Lavender commented and Hermione nodded, tearing her eyes away from the blond, though her feeling of unease grew.

'This is boring' Ron whined, earning himself a swat on the arm, complements of Hermione.

'You started this conversation you git' Hermione accused and Ron shrugged.

'I'm still bored' He countered. 'Let's talk about quidditch!'

Hermione groaned and put her head in her hands.

'Now I'm bored' She complained. That earned her a few laughs from the table.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'Father was complaining about some of the teachers again' Malfoy called out across the empty hall to the only other being within earshot. Hermione turned around, her eyes narrowed slightly in confusion.

'What?' Hermione asked, taking a tentative step towards the Slytherin.

'I overheard that you and the Lions were discussing my father and figured you were curious as to why he was here.' He answered calmly, which didn't answer the question Hermione verbally asked, but instead answered what she didn't ask, but wanted to know the same: _Why is he telling me_.

'Oh' Hermione said dumbly, not sure how to respond. Draco chuckled rather softly and moved to continue walking, though before passing her, he reached his hand out and gently pushed on her forehead with the tips of his fingers.

He left without saying anything, a ghost of a smile on his face, and Hermione was left on her own, confused and seemingly rooted to the ground, trying to figure out exactly what had just happened.


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi guys. I've been getting a few reviews asking me to make my chapters longer, and let me tell you... I will do my best. For some reason, I'm having a hard time with this story and making longer chapters, but I did succeed in making this one over 400 words longer, so its a start!**

 **This chapter does have a direct quote from J.K. Rowlings _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ 'Textbook'. It's not my writing, those two paragraphs, but hers. I will not claim it... yada yada yada.**

 **Oh! and I just recently had a new plot bunny hop into my head, so you might be getting a new multi-chapter story when this one is done. As for the length of this one, I'm still not sure. Just gonna go with the flow on it :)**

 **I finally got a cover image uploaded for this story! About time huh?**

 **As always, review and let me know what you think/anything you notice! And thank you to those who have reviewed on previous chapters!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harry Potter Universe, that includes all of the stories and books that go with it (a.k.a. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them... Which is a fun thing to read, by the way, and the movie is stellar. I can't wait until I own it!).**

* * *

 **Part 4**

'You aren't going to let me read, are you' Hermione part questioned, part stated, as Sterlyn paced around her, his wings brushing her feet every once in a while and small ringlets of smoke constantly played with her hair.

Sterlyn halted and turned to her with an expression that Hermione could only describe as extreme restlessness. After she noticed the muscles on his back twitching ever so slightly, Hermione sighed and marked her page before setting her book down and pushing herself up from her tree.

'What do you need?' She asked, placing her hand gently on his snout. The dragon then let out another puff of smoke, that swirled at the ends of her hair, before spreading his wings ever so slightly. He couldn't straighten them all the way, since their clearing wasn't wide enough, but Hermione got the message loud and clear. Sterlyn wanted to fly.

Hermione held back a nervous laugh, and shook her head quickly.

'Sorry, friend, but I don't fly' She said rather quietly, removing her hand from his head. Sterlyn snorted in annoyance before gently nudging her shoulder with his nose, then bowed his neck and looked up at her with the most pleading expression Hermione had ever seen.

'No' She said simply, though not harshly.

Sterlyn did not relent. He folded down onto his knees and outstretched a singly wing, supplying Hermione with enough room to climb upon his back. She shook her head vehemently.

'I'm scared of heights' She admitted softly, though all Sterlyn did was reach his wing a little farther and continue staring up at her with a pleading look.

Hermione gave in.

Slowly, she walked up to the dragon, her hands shaking with nerves, and climbed onto his back, taking a moment to register how warm both he was, yet how cold his scales were. She tucked away the knowledge so she could research it later on.

Sterlyn stood up, after Hermione was fully on his back, saddled nicely between the ridges of his spine, and begun to shake his wings just a slight bit. Hermione held back a small squeak and threw her arms around his neck.

To her great surprise, though, the dragon didn't start to beat his wings, or prepare to push off from the ground, but instead tucked his wings in and began walking in circles around their clearing. Because of the size of the clearing, he ended up looking like a dog chasing his tail. Hermione loosened her grip around his neck and looked at him in confusion. He cocked his head back at her, a small glint in his eye, before returning to his task, walking in circles around their clearing.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'And where are you off to?' Harry asked as Hermione walked to the edge of the common room, her book bag, which was empty, slung over her shoulder.

'The library' She said, turning around and giving him a small smile. He smiled back and waved her off with a hand as he turned back to his chess game with Ron.

'Be safe' He called out to Hermione, who, in turn, rolled her eyes and pushed past the portrait of the Fat Lady and began her trek to the library. Fortunately, she got there rather quickly, and was able to start on her task right away.

Time for some good old fashion research.

Within fifteen minutes, she had collected five different books on Dragons, signed them out with Madam Pince, and made her way to one of her favorite study spots in the castle, which just so happened to be the tallest spot in the castle; the Astronomy Tower.

Hermione sat down, resting herself up against the railing of the tower, and pulled out a book at random, which turned out to be Newt Scamander's _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them._

' _Probably the most famous of all magical beasts, dragons are among the most difficult to hide. The female is generally larger and more aggressive than the male, though neither should be approached by any but highly skilled and trained wizards. Dragon hide, blood, heart, liver and horn all have highly magical properties, but dragon eggs are defined as Class A Non-Tradeable Goods._

 _There are ten breeds of dragon, though these have been known to interbreed on occasion, producing rare hybrids. Pure-bred dragons are as follows:'_

Hermione scanned through the descriptions of each dragon and frowned. None of them seemed to fit Sterlyn just right, though perhaps he was related to a Swedish Short Snout. Definitely a mixed breed then.

Hermione sighed and closed the book before reaching into her bag to pull out a booked titled _Dragon Scales and All of Their Properties._

' _Nearly all parts of a dragon can be used in just about any form of magic, but a dragon's scales are some of the most useful of all, yet they are the most forgotten. Because of their heat-resistant abilities, dragon scales can be used for all things from potion making to house building.'_

Hermione grinned. This book might just give her exactly what she needed.

She had just started a section on how the scales trap heat and store it, instead of releasing the heat, when she heard someone clear their throat behind her.

She whipped her head around to see a certain Slytherin leaning up against the doorway to the tower, his hands in his pockets and tie looser than normal. He cocked an eyebrow at her as she stared in confusion. What was his deal lately?

'This is a rather strange place to study for someone so scared of heights' Malfoy said, his silver eyes locking onto her brown ones, and his lips forming the smallest of smiles. Hermione frowned and looked down, getting increasingly more uncomfortable with his gaze. Instead, she glanced through the slats of the railing and looked out across the grounds of Hogwarts.

At her silence, Malfoy decided to push away from the wall and make his way over to Hermione. She frowned as he sat a few feet away from her, and shivered at the feel of his eyes still on her.

'How do you know, anyways?' Hermione asked, not even bothering to correct him on something he was already right about. Why lie when he already knew, right? She didn't bother looking at him either and continued to scan the world below her, though she wasn't paying much attention to the mind baffling scenery.

No, all of her attention was on the blond Slytherin sitting beside her.

'Oh please' He said with a small scoff 'Everyone knows'

Hermione blushed slightly, in embarrassment, before casting her eyes downwards to look at her hands. That is, until he spoke. She looked up at him as he said his next words.

'What I don't get is why you would choose to be so high up'

'There's a railing' She shrugged in reply, taking a moment to study him. He looked so different without his smirk. His pale hair framed his pale face, his silver eyes were calculative, but not cold, and he looked so confused, a bit concerned. Innocent almost, like an angel. She inwardly snorted at the thought. Draco Malfoy, King of the Snakes, an innocent angel? Not likely.

'And what if it broke?' He asked, his eyebrows furrowed. 'Does that not bother you?'

'I guess I just don't believe it will. If it was frail, then I probably would have reservations' She answered almost immediately, before tearing her eyes away from him. She couldn't understand why she was answering him like they were friends, or why he was even talking to her. It was confusing.

So she did what she knows and picked up a book. Back to _Dragon Scales and All of Their Properties._

'Dragons eh?' Malfoy questioned, glancing at the cover of her book and trying to hold back a smirk.

'Dragons' She replied simply.


	6. Chapter 5

**Aye! It's me again! This chapter was annoyingly difficult to write, but I think I managed XD AND IT'S LONGER! Almost another 400 words longer than my last chapter!**

 ***cough cough* I'm sick. Like, really sick. It's a weird kind of sick too. I don't feel super sick, but I can't breath and it's made standing up really hard haha. And my hands are shaking really bad, so typing is interesting too... BUT I CANNOT LET ANYTHING STOP ME FROM WRITING! or something like that.**

 **As always, please let me know what you think, and, if you feel so inclined, check out my other stories and let me know what you think about them!**

 **Disclaimer: Just... No**

* * *

 **Part 5**

Hermione nibbled on her toast, eyes flitting around the great hall and foot tapping impatiently, or perhaps nervously, on the stone floor underneath her. The green-eyed boy, who sat beside her, frowned and poked her shoulder.

'You alright 'Mione?' Harry asked, looking Hermione over cautiously. 'You looked like a terrified animal'

Hermione's eyes shot to Harry's, and she forced a small smile, one that made Harry's frown deepen.

'Just fine Harry' She said, her voice airy and slightly shaky. An unwanted cup of water was thrust into her hand, and she turned to glare at Harry, who gave her the water.

'What is this for?' She asked haughtily, not bothering to take a sip, but instead held it annoyingly before Harry's face, who frowned.

'You don't look to good and I think you should drink something' Harry replied back, is eyes flashing slightly. Hermione rolled her eyes and set the water down, choosing, instead, to pick up her fork and poke at the eggs on her plate.

'Will you at least tell me what's wrong?' The boy who lived asked, choosing to ignore the way she ignored him.

'Just a little confused about something' She muttered, taking a small bite of her eggs.

A loud snort from across the table caused nearly everyone within a ten-foot radius to look at Ron, who, surprisingly, didn't have food in his mouth. 'Hermione? Knower of all things? Queen of the Books?' He questioned 'Confused?'

Everyone laughed. Hermione flushed in embarrassment.

'As we have gone over before, Ronald, I do not know everything!' She exclaimed before slamming her fork down on the table and standing up. Ignoring the calls of her friends, she stormed out of the Great Hall, desperate to be outside and with the one person who made her feel worth something. Well, not person, but dragon. She sighed as she adjusted her robes, took a glance around, and slipped into the forbidden forest.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

Hermione was slightly sore after her day of rotating between sitting on her tree, pacing around in frustration, and riding Sterlyn as he meandered through the forest. Her legs were simply exhausted.

Her eyes scanned the Gryffindor common room and soon landed on her two best friends, playing a game of wizards chess near the fireplace. Destination in mind, Hermione hobbled over to a couch near the two boys and she slumped on the maroon material with an exhausted sigh.

'You're safe' Harry mumbled, barely loud enough for Hermione to hear, and she let out a small laugh.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry for storming off earlier' She said, glancing at the pair, who seemed fixated on their chess game.

'Ginny says I'm too overbearing' Harry said, before ordering his night to attack one of Ron's pieces.

'And that I speak without using my head' Ron added, his ears turning red.

Hermione's eyes scanned for Ginny, who was across the room, talking to her friends. Ginny turned to Hermione, who gave Ginny a thankful smile, and nodded slightly before returning to her previous conversation.

'I think she might be on to something' Hermione noted, turning back to the duo.

'We're sorry 'Mione' Harry said, pushing the chessboard aside and instead made his way to sit beside his best female friend. Ron followed suit and Hermione couldn't help but think that maybe her friends weren't so bad after all.

'It's alright' She shrugged before they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

'Have you' Hermione started, ignoring the way both Harry and Ron snapped to attention beside her, as she stared into the crackling fire 'noticed anything strange about Malfoy?'

With her question asked, Hermione took a careful glance at the two boys sitting beside her, only to find them looking quite thoughtful.

'I guess he does seem more subdued than normal' Harry voiced after a moment of silence. 'Why?'

'I dunno. He and I sort of held a civil conversation yesterday' She spoke, turning her gaze down so she could carefully inspect her fingernails. Ron snorted in disbelief, but quickly covered it up by letting out a small cough. He wasn't about to make the same mistake twice in one day.

'That is strange' Harry commented, though didn't continue. Hermione simply nodded, but let the topic drop, and soon the trio slipped into yet another comfortable silence.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'I have a problem' a cold voice drawled, interrupting Hermione mid-page in one of her new dragon books. She frowned and glanced up to see an almost familiar sight from just a few days prior. A Slytherin leaned casually against the doorway to the astronomy tower, his tie loose and his hands in his pockets. The biggest difference was that instead of silver eyes and shockingly blond hair, this particular seventh year had cold, blue eyes and blond hair dark enough to be considered brown.

Hermione frowned, not knowing just what name to put to this particular face, and a slight bit frightened. A Slytherin that stays far enough in the shadows for her not to know could not be good news.

'You see' The boy continued, a dark smirk gracing his face. 'An acquaintance of mine has begun to lose his morals and, because of the same reason, his reputation. He's going soft.'

The boy didn't make any advances towards her, but he did shift his robes slightly. The movement wasn't enough to catch Hermione's eye though. It didn't help that she was too confused to really be paying attention to his slow, small movements.

'And it took me a while, but I think I figured it out.' The boy said, his head tilting ever so slightly as his eyes seemed to bore holes into Hermione's 'you see, my acquaintance here has seemed to have fallen for someone unworthy of his attentions. A mudblood, as it turns' Hermione's attention seemed to have sharpened at that.

Theodore Nott. That's who was speaking to her. This most likely meant trouble. She slowly moved her hand to her wand, her eyes scanning Nott's form, only to find he already had his wand in hand. Within the next few second, he also held Hermione's wand.

'Ah, ah' Nott taunted, waving his pointer finger at Hermione, his smirk growing. 'I can't have you using that against me. I have a plan, you see'

'What is your plan?' Hermione asked, setting her book to the side and using the railing to help her stand up.

'I'm going to teach you how to fly'

It was a slight movement, but proved to be quite catastrophic for Hermione. All it took was one well placed spell from Theodore Nott and the railing supporting Hermione just disappeared. Her weight betrayed her as she fell backwards. She screamed, but made no noise.

'BASTARD!' She silently yelled to the boy who had silenced her, and she felt the wind rush through her hair, her clothes, her being. He still stood in the doorway, smirking, as he waited for his plan to unfold.

Fear clouded her mind as she threw her arms out to try and grab on to something, anything, that would stop her from falling. With another unheard scream, she managed to grip the ledge, her shoulder flaring up in pain.

It was now that Hermione wished she had more upper body strength so she could pull herself up, but unfortunately not even all of the books she carried could prepare her for this. She tried, in vain, to grip the ledge with a second hand, but only succeeded in sending another burst of pain to the shoulder that was bearing her weight.

'STUPIFY!'

Her attention snapped from her slowly slipping fingers to a yell from a voice she couldn't exactly place.

She heard frantic footsteps approaching her, but they came too little too late and the worried gaze of Draco Malfoy appeared just as her fingers lost all strength and she fell, eyes wide.

Hermione vaguely recalled Malfoy yelling something, but the sound of wind in her ears was far too deafening to actually understand what he yelled. Though is almost sounded like her name. Her first name. That didn't seem right.

What Hermione couldn't blame on the wind, however, was the sight of Draco Malfoy diving off of the tower after her, his arm outstretched and determination plastered onto his pale features. Why he followed her into the open air, Hermione didn't know, but when your worst fear is coming true, you don't question the things that could possibly be your saving grace.

So she didn't let herself question it when she felt his warm hand encase hers, or when he maneuvered himself so he was beneath her, his arms wrapped around her waist in order to keep her close. The most confusing part, though, that she didn't allow herself to question was when warm flesh turned into cold scales, arms turned into legs that had long talons connected to their feet, and billowing robes turned into large, leathery wings.

No, she didn't allow her fear clouded mind to try and question why Draco Malfoy was turning into a dragon. Not any dragon either. Sterlyn. Draco Malfoy was her Sterlyn. She didn't let herself question that.

Powerful wings steadied the falling duo, and Hermione found herself face to face with a steadily approaching ground.

Fortunately, the pace of the approaching ground slowed down, and by the time the pair almost reached it, they were stopped, hovering just above the stone. After a few beats of his wings, Sterlyn, or Draco Malfoy, loosened his grip on Hermione and helped her gently to the ground.

She fell to her hands and knees, her breathing ragged and hands shaking, when she felt Sterlyn land beside her. Scales were quickly replaced with pale flesh, and Draco lay on his back, panting.

'That' Draco started, though Hermione didn't move her eyes from the stone beneath her. His voice sounded as shaky and winded as Hermione felt. 'Was not exactly how I wanted our first flight to go'


	7. Chapter 6

**I'm still sick and it's getting really annoying...**

 **Whelps, here is the next part! This one was a bit difficult to word, but way easier to write than the last one.. In any case, it's here. Yay! Let me know what you think! Also, check out my other stories, specifically Drapple, Scars, and Coping (as they are my favorites... I like the other ones too, but they weren't as fun to write... sha know?).**

 **Let me know what you think of those ones too!**

 **I BOUGHT FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (The movie..) AND I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL I CAN WATCH IT AGAIN! YAY!**

 **Anywho...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything (EXCEPT A COPY OF FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM!)**

* * *

 **Part 6**

'That' Hermione shut her eyes as Malfoy spoke, counting silently as she tried to slow her breathing 'Was not exactly how I wanted our first flight to go'

 _Seven_ In

 _Eight_ out

 _Nine_ In

 _Ten_

As she reached ten, Hermione burst into a fit of giggles. Giggles turned to full on laughter as she tried to sit back on her heels, using her hands to hold her stomach as she felt a stitch form in her side.

'You' She attempted, but stopped short as another round of laughter erupted from her. Draco stared at her in bewilderment and he pushed himself up to a seated position.

'You' Hermione tried again, but her laughter simply grew.

It was an odd sight to see. Hermione Granger practically rolling on the floor, laughing her head off, and Draco Malfoy staring at her with an expression that shifted between confusion and concern. Too bad no one was around to see it, being so close to curfew and all. Anyone would've found the scene to be quite amusing.

Hermione took another few minutes to compose herself, but still had laughter lighting up her face when she looked at Malfoy. 'You are Sterlyn.' She stated, her smile growing and the look on Malfoy's face. If she were asked to explain it, she would have simply burst out laughing again.

That is, until realization dawned upon her.

'You are Sterlyn' She said again, though much more subdued. 'I've been openly talking to you for weeks now'. Her eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and embarrassment, and Malfoy's expression turned almost hurt.

There was a moment of silence as Hermione tried to work things out in her head. Malfoy kept quiet, choosing to look down at his hands until Hermione spoke again.

'You're the one Nott was talking about. The Slytherin right?' She half asked, half stated, her eyebrows furrowed. 'and I'm the mudblood aren't I?' Hermione asked in the same tone, watching as Malfoy's silver eyes darkened.

'I'd prefer it if you didn't use that word' He muttered, standing up and dusting his clothes off. Hermione frowned. 'Why not?' She asked, scrambling up as well, watching as Malfoy eyed her. 'You've used it'

At the accusation, Malfoy sighed and turned his back on Hermione. 'Not since third year' He mumbled, wincing slightly. Although he was quiet, Hermione still heard him. She was shocked, to say the least. _'Of course'_ She internally reasoned with herself ' _He could be lying_ '. But then a question sprung up inside her; Why would he lie?

At her silence, Draco frowned at turned back towards Hermione. 'Speaking of Nott, he still has your wand.'

After a moments pause, he held his hand out to Hermione, and Hermione could physically see the internal battle inside him as he made eye contact with her. Why he was so conflicted, she didn't know, but she found it interesting that she could see his emotions so clearly on his usually meticulously masked face.

'Shall we go get it back?' He asked, his hand twitching ever so slightly.

Hermione took a deep breath and took a dive that was almost as scary to think about as the fall from the Astronomy Tower.

'Yes' She said as she gripped his hand. 'I think we shall'

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

It took longer than both of the teenagers had hoped, but the duo soon found themselves at the top of the long, spiral staircase to the dreaded tower, the doorway clear if not for the pair of feet that rested in it.

Upon closer inspection, the unlikely duo found a body connected to the feet, although that wasn't surprising, and Hermione internally praised Malfoy for the job he did on the other Slytherin.

Theodore Nott was out cold, the stunning spell still at full strength, and he had a rather large bruise forming on his forehead from falling to the unforgiving, stone floor.

'What should we do with him?' Hermione asked, turning her gaze to Malfoy, who sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, his silvers eyes almost frantically searching the surrounding area, before he met Hermione's gaze.

'We can't obliviate him' Malfoy murmured, frowning slightly 'It would really help in this situation, but he's too smart for it. He'd know his memory has been altered and end up causing more trouble'

Hermione frowned before crouching down to flip the Slytherin in question over and checking his pulse.

'He's going to be out for a while.' She commented before locating her wand, which resided in his left hand, and reclaimed it. 'How much trouble is he going to cause you when he wakes up?' She asked, standing up and straightening out her robes.

'A fair amount.' Draco admitted before his frown deepened. 'He's going to cause you quite a bit too'

'Oh. You mean other than trying to kill me?' Hermione retorted sarcastically before catching Draco's darkened gaze and looking down apologetically.

A short silenced ensued, before Draco inhaled sharply. Hermione snapped her eyes up to him, and saw something that almost comforted her, but also scared her a little bit.

He was smirking.

'I may have a plan.' He said and Hermione cocked her eyebrow.

'Let's hear it' She shrugged.

'It's pretty Slytherin'

'Alright'

'I'll take him to the common room, explain to the other Slytherins that he had a bit of an accident and would be waking up soon.' Hermione's eyebrow raised even further as he explained. 'Don't worry, I'll go into detail about his accident. That way, when he wakes up and I tell him what I told the others, he'll have to agree with me to keep face'

Hermione snorted and Draco glared at her slightly.

'I know you Gryffindors are different than us, but it is very important to keep face.' He defended, his smirk dropping slightly. 'And this'll work. It's a bit common of a tactic, but it'll work.'

Hermione shrugged, and Malfoy ran his fingers through his hair again. 'I'm still top dog' He continued, more to himself than Hermione 'So if he does try and say what really happened then he'll just confirm my story even more cause he'll sound crazy'

'It is more Slytherin than anything I'd ever do' Hermione admitted softly, turning away from Draco, who frowned, almost as if he was hurt.

'Good thing I'm not the one doing it' Hermione added, trying to resist a smirk of her own from slipping onto her features.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

''Mione' Harry said as he sat down beside her, grabbing food as he went. 'Did you hear?'

Hermione glanced up at him, her head tilted ever so slightly 'Hear what?' She asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

'Nott. Apparently he had a bit of a fall last night and is now babbling nonsense about Draco loving muggleborns and revenge. That kid, Zabini, had to take him to the Hospital Wing' Ron cut in, sitting on Hermione's other side, going for the food even quicker than Harry had.

'Really?' Hermione asked, acting curios, but feeling slightly giddy inside as she took a glance at the Slytherin table. She met eyes with a stony Theodore Nott, who continued to glare at her until a blonde with silver eyes leaned over and whispered something to him. He quickly looked down after that.

'Yeah, I'm surprised Madam Pomfry let him out so quickly' Harry commented as Hermione's brown eyes met Malfoy's silver ones. Malfoy gave a small smirk to her, and she had to hold back a grin.

'So, finished with your homework yet?' Hermione asked, turning back to her friends, seamlessly changing the topic, grinning to herself when both boys groaned.


	8. Chapter 7

**AAAND HERE WE ARE!**

 **I'm still sick. Super sick... well, if you count having a violent coughing attack every few minutes as being super sick then I'm super sick.**

 **Anyways. Here's the next chapter. Hopefully this answers a few questions. If not, let me know!**

 **As always, tell me what you think. I love reading the reviews and I always do my best to answer them. If you don't have an account, but still review, indicate to me if you want a reply and I'll do it at the end of a chapter! And please read my other stories too! Some of them (like Coping) I'm still in the process of writing and could use ideas and or reactions to judge what might be a good idea for the next chapters!**

 **Update: I make a lot of mistakes, but when I wrote 'swearing' I meant to write 'staring'. It's fixed now... but that's all the update is XD**

 **Disclaimer: Nope... Not mine... None of it...**

* * *

 **Part 7**

Hermione heard an inhuman snort behind her and she had to hold back her grin as she marked her page and set her book to the side.

'Hi Malfoy' She said, not bothering to turn around, when she felt the dragon nudge her back with his snout.

There was a short silence before 'Aww, I liked Sterlyn'. Hermione saw Draco slump his shoulders as he walked around her trunk and sat at her feet. She let out a slightly strangled laugh when he rested his head on her knee.

'What?' Malfoy whined after a minute. 'Just because I'm not in my animagus form, you aren't going to pet me?'

Hermione laughed again, and only hesitated for a second before she started gently running her fingers through her hair.

'So, Draco Malfoy is an animagus in the form of a dragon. Who would've guessed?' Hermione joked slightly as she played with his platinum hair. 'How did it come to be?'

'Remember how done you were when you first met Sterlyn?' Draco asked softly, his eyes closed and his breath tickling her skin slightly. Hermione's face flushed.

'Ahh, you remember that?' She asked semi nervously. Draco chuckled.

'I remember everything that has happened in this clearing' He replied, a small grin showing in his voice. 'Moving on though. In fourth year, I was just as done.' He paused and Hermione felt his muscles tighten underneath her fingers. She shifted her attention to gently rub at his temples, and grinned triumphantly when he let out a small sigh.

'More so possibly' He continued. 'And my usual form of release was definitely harder to do. Remember that one class where Professor Werewolf talked about animagus? How some Witches and Wizards find being an animal relieves stress? Well, I remembered it and decided to give it a shot.'

'When did you complete your first transformation?' Hermione asked, a little more earnestly than she had meant to, earning herself a chuckle from Draco.

'Right before Christmas time' He said proudly. Hermione's jaw dropped.

'What? Of fourth year? That's really fast' She exclaimed, momentarily stilling her hands until Draco reached his own hands up to tap them.

'I know' He said, smirking slightly as she continued her movement. She smacked his shoulder gently. 'Hey!' He protested with a small laugh.

'Wait' Hermione said, returning to playing with his hair. 'How did you get away with holding a mandrake leaf in your mouth for a whole month?' She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

'I may or may not have pretended to take a vow of silence protesting the cancelation of quidditch for the year'

'Really?' Hermione asked incredulously. 'Everyone bought that?'

Draco laughed. 'You seem to forget that I'm the King of Slytherin. Just about anything I say goes.'

'Are you registered?' Hermione asked and she felt Draco involuntarily tighten his muscles again.

'No.' He said simply, only relaxing when Hermione moved her finger tips back over his temples.

Hermione frowned as a silence fell over the two and tried to think of why Draco seemed to have closed off at the thought of registering. It was more than a _'I'm being a rebellious teenager_ ' reaction. No, there was something personal behind it.

'I understand' She said softly, before raising her voice and greatly changing the subject.

'So, Kind of Slytherin, I've heard a lot about the tale that you spun, but I haven't actually heard the tale itself. Would you mind telling me what happened to Nott last night?'

She heard Draco take a deep breath in before going into his story.

'I actually found Nott at the bottom of a staircase, on the third floor. Quite bumped up really. He even broke his arm.' Draco said, smirking slightly. 'Apparently he got some sort of a concussion because after I found him and brought him to the Slytherin common room, he woke up and started spewing nonsense about me being a blood traitor.'

Draco sat up and looked at Hermione, his face mock horrified. 'Me! A blood traitor!'

Hermione let out a small laugh and Draco grinned before continuing. 'Too bad I wasn't able to inform him of his fall before he started talking, he could've saved his reputation.' He said with another mock expression; sympathy. 'He got so worked up that I had Blaise take him to the hospital wing. Poor guy. He was a mess'

Draco finished his tale with a smirk towards Hermione, though it slowly grew to a full grin when she tried to hold back another laugh.

'You didn't break his arm, did you?' She suddenly asked, her eyes widening in concern.

'Wow witch.' Draco grumbled. 'The bastard tries to kill you and you are worried about his arm breaking? Mental, you are.'

Hermione let out a small gasp. 'So you did?'

'Relax. It broke when I stunned him on top of the tower.'

Hermione's horrified expression relaxed, and she raised an eyebrow 'So you did break it' She said, though all worry and stress had seeped from her voice and she was left with a slightly joking tone.

Draco grinned 'Of course I did'

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'Granger!'

Hermione frowned as she heard her name called. Her last name. Who called her by her last name? She turned around, adjusting the bag on her shoulder slightly.

' _Uh oh'_ She thought as a terrifying sight greeted her. Yet another Slytherin. She frowned as Blaise Zabini strode toward her, his dark hair swaying slightly with each step, his tie completely undone, and his shirt untucked under his robes. He was the perfect picture of casually, stylistically messy.

'Can I help you?' Hermione asked somewhat boldly. She was a Gryffindor after all.

'Yeah.' He said, his expression perfectly serious. Hermione couldn't ever remember Blaise Zabini acting serious about something. 'We need to talk.'

'Oh no! Surely you don't want us to break up now, do you? No girl ever wants to hear those words. Oh! Whatever shall I do?'

Hermione was causing a scene, and she knew it. Unfortunately she just couldn't help it. Up until this year, the only time any Slytherin would talk to her was to throw insults in her face. Causing a scene, being annoying, well, it was just habit for her.

Zabini cracked a smile, but then frowned when he realized that people were stearing.

'Watch it Granger' He growled before gripping her arm and dragging her to an empty classroom. She glared at him and reached for her wand.

'You really won't need that' Blaise said, closing the classroom's door and letting go of Hermione. 'I'm not going to pull a Nott and try and hurt you'

Hermione frowned and lowered her wand, though she didn't put it away. 'What do you mean?' She asked cautiously and was answered by Zabini's signature smirk.

'Don't worry. I'm on Draco's side. He told me what actually happened. I just wanted to let you know that not every Slytherin is a blood purist freak, and some of us are actually slowly working to change that reputation and attitude as a whole.'

Zabini paused for a moment before his expression turned serious again. 'I wanted to ask you, though, would you be willing to help us?'

* * *

 **AN 2.0: I LOVE BLAISE! I almost named my bird off of him... Almost named him Zabini... but I chose to name him Theo instead because he acts more like Theodore Nott (When he's not portrayed as an evil piece of crap {So hard to not swear, but my rating on this story is pretty low so I won't do it}). I have to say. I am a little nervous introducing Blaise, because I love him so much.. I don't wan't to not do his character justice!**

 **Review please :)**


	9. Chapter 8

**AAAHHH! Sorry for taking so long to update! I missed both my weekend update and my Tuesday update!**

 **In my defense, not only have I been getting more homework this last week, but my sickness also took a turn for the worse... So between homework and feeling like crap, I just couldn't get a chapter written. But here it is! yay! and I think it's the longest I've written!**

 **As always, I'm gonna ask you to let me know what you think. Not only does it help me understand what people seem to like, but a lot of the comments I get give me ideas and help with any writers block I come across! So please, let me know.**

 **And, if you could, check out my other stories and let me know what you think of those!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter... Not even the Exploding Snabberwitches (which are mentioned in the book... I promise I didn't make them up. I'm not that cool XD)**

* * *

 **Part 8**

'Granger' a familiar voice interrupted her reading, and she sighed. She was excited to read. She held up her hand to signify him to wait for a moment, as she finished her paragraph, before marking her page and slipping her book back into her bag.

She turned around, and was rather shocked by the scene she came face to face with. Of all of the things that she might have imagined showing up in Her and Draco's spot, it certainly wasn't this.

There were five people, four of which were wearing Slytherin colors, with Draco standing at the front, an amused smirk gracing his features. Hermione flushed a bright red at her behavior in front of her un-known company.

'Hello' She managed, wanting to do nothing but hide herself. Blaise Zabini laughed, Draco smirked wider, two girls, who Hermione didn't recognize but were obviously sisters, shared a few whispered words, and Luna Lovegood flounced up to Hermione and pulled her into a hug.

'Hello Hermione. I'm surprised you go out to the forest by yourself, Exploding Snabberwitches aren't creatures to trifle with'

'Don't worry Luna. I always keep my eyes peeled' Hermione said, catching Draco's eye and giving him a small smile, trying to get over her embarrassment.

'Yes. Don't worry Lovegood. It would take a magnificent creature to sneak up on her' Draco said, his smirk widening. Hermione's eyes flashed in embarrassment before she quickly schooled her expression and smirked.

'And I've yet to meet such a creature, despite the possibility of Exploding Snabberwitches being nearby'

Draco raised his eyebrow, still quite amused, Blaise laughed again, shaking his head slightly at Hermione's antics, and the sisters were still gossiping together. Luna just smiled her whimsical smile and sat herself down against a tree, deciding to pick up a flower and study it.

As Luna sat down, the rest of the group filed fully into the clearing and chose places to reside. Zabini leaned against the tree that Luna was sitting at the base of, the sisters chose to sit atop a large boulder, somewhere off to the left, and Draco joined Hermione on her fallen tree, though he sat on the other end of it, staying rather far from her. Hermione almost commented on his seating choice, but quickly bit her tongue. He was around other people, from other circles, now. He wouldn't want them to see her playing with his hair.

She held back a sigh before leaning over slightly, not too close, but close enough so the rest of the group wouldn't hear her.

'Mind telling me what all of these people are doing in our spot?' She asked, trying to keep her whisper from turning harsh.

Draco looked like he was going to retort with something sarcastic, but his expression quickly turned thoughtful. 'Our spot?'

Hermione flushed.

'Yes.' She said, frowning slightly. 'Our spot. The place we first met without tearing at each other's throats, the place where we both have been coming to unwind, the place that, before today, only we knew to be special.'

Draco's thoughtful expression stayed, and he smiled softly before his own frown slipped onto his features. 'Had I known you felt that way about this place, I would've had our group meet somewhere else. As of right now, though, you'll just have to think of this as the place where we change the way our generation thinks.'

Hermione's eyes widened slightly, but she grinned. 'I guess that'll have to do. I'm still a little sad about the loss of our own spot though.'

'Don't worry. I'll find a new place for our meetings' Draco relented, shrugging slightly.

'Speaking of meetings?' She hinted, and Draco grinned.

'Alright everybody' he said, raising his voice for the small group to hear. Everyone's attention snapped to him and his grin widened. 'We are all here because we don't believe in blood supremacy, nor the overall Slytherin, or even Pureblooded, reputation. I think I speak for everyone when I say that both the ideas in and of Slytherin need to change. The Slytherin house, just like the other three, could be great. I want to reach that greatness and end the hate.'

Hermione grinned slightly as she watched the expressions on everyone's face. Granted, the Slytherin's looked rather sly in comparison to Luna's whimsical expression, but they all seemed genuinely interested in changing things.

'I know we are small in numbers, but I also know that the six of us are not the only ones who think like this. We need to recruit them, but it needs to be discrete. If people like Nott catch wind of all of this before we are ready, it could be catastrophic. Unfortunately there are too many people who would side with him.'

'Also' he paused, glancing at Hermione for a split second before continuing. 'There are people out there who don't believe in blood supremacy, but are incredibly biased against Slytherins and anyone in any of the pureblooded circles. While they might have their heart in the right place, they could prove to be just as fatal as anyone who follows Nott. They also could be just as hard, or even harder, to recruit than any of Nott's people.'

Hermione glanced down at her hands. She could tell that he was referring to most of the Gryffindors. Everyone knew it, though no one ever really talks about it, but a lot of the Gryffindors are just as biased and judgmental towards the Slytherins, despite the fact that they've never held full conversations with anyone from the other house.

Hermione sighed, before glancing up to see Blaise's eyes trained firmly on her. He gave her a sort of sympathetic look. They were in very similar situations, Hermione could notice that, so she simply nodded in response before looking towards Draco, who was still talking.

'Unfortunately, as I said before, we can't go about this publically just yet, but I think if we could get our numbers up, then we might stand a chance against both of the extremist sides. I'm thinking that we should each try and get at least one person to join by our next meeting, which will be in a week. As of right now, we don't have an official place to meet, but we'll figure something out. This clearing is simply too small if we are going to expand our numbers'

He gave everyone a glance over. 'I'll find some way to let you all know exactly when and where we'll meet.'

With a nod of his head, it became clear that his speech was over, and he glanced at Hermione. It was buried, but she could see the slight flecks of nervousness in his eyes, so she gave him a supportive smile and a small nod. He visibly relaxed before standing up and grabbing Hermione's hand so he could drag her over to the sisters, both of which Hermione still couldn't name.

'Granger, have you met these two?' he asked, despite the fact that he knew the answer.

'I don't believe we've been formally introduced' Daphne Greengrass replied for Hermione, giving her a small smile. A really small smile. Hermione barely even recognized her long, dirty blonde locks which fell in perfect curls down her back. She reasoned that she must not be one for the lime light 'Daphne Greengrass, seventh year Slytherin.'

'And I'm Astoria Greengrass' the other sister cut in and Hermione mentally hit herself. Astoria, with her long hair a few shades lighter than her sister, was in Ginny's year and supposedly very outgoing. Almost everyone knew her name, at least, and Hermione figured that every boy in Hogwarts knew exactly what she looked like.

'It's a pleasure to meet you' Astoria continued energetically 'Draco told us about what happened with Nott. It sure is lucky that he was out late training right? Oh my. What if he hadn't had his broom with him? That would have been a disaster! I'm very glad you are alright though.'

Hermione simply nodded, unsure of how to respond to Astoria's enthusiasm. Fortunately, she didn't have to, as Blaise chose that moment to join the conversation.

'Yes, Tory. We are all very glad Draco was there to help.' He said calmly, his smirk firmly in place. 'It means we'll have her help getting more people on our side' he added. Hermione let out a small laugh, and Astoria hit Blaise lightly on the shoulder.

'You say Draco saved Hermione?' Luna said, her voice drifting lightly into the conversation. Astoria nodded with a grin.

'Hmm..' Luna hummed softly, tilting her head ever so slightly. 'I guess that fits the vision I had'

Hermione frowned slightly. Visions were, in her opinion, very iffy business.

'And what was your vision?' Astoria prompted and everyone glanced at Luna, even Hermione, her curiosity winning over.

'That a great silver dragon caught her' She said in an airy tone. 'Silver as a symbol for slytherin and a dragon to symbolize his name; Draco'

It took a moment, but the whole group burst into laughter, well, most of the group. Hermione let out a small, nervous giggle as she glanced at Draco, who was protecting his cover and acting smug about being called a dragon. Of course, there wasn't much acting to it. The strangest reaction, though, that caught Hermione's eye was that of a certain Blaise Zabini. He stared at an oblivious Luna Lovegood in complete awe, his smirk non-existent. Hermione smiled slightly to herself. It takes a lot to wipe the smirk off of Blaise's face, and it seems as if Luna was exactly what it took.


	10. Update 2

**Hi friends. Don't get too excited cause this isnt a new chapter. This is an update of sorts... I'm doing really really bad. I can't do anything without having a coughing fit. I've literally been sitting on the couch for the last 4 days straight. I havent even made it to school. I tried writing at the beginning of it, but I just couldn't manage anything. Even typing this update out on my phone is difficult. Hopefully I'll be back to writing soon... and back to life. Hopefully I won't be gone too long, cause I really want to write. Ugh. Wish me luck.**


	11. Chapter 9

**Hi guys! So I'm back (Finally) and I'm proud to say that I now have an Associates Degree and am not nearly as sick as I was before... I'm still sick, but it's a lot better... It only took 6 weeks, 17 pounds, and me quitting literally everything but school. (I haven't been to work in over a month, I'm not sure why they haven't fired me yet..), I haven't written since the last chapter (So I'm probably a little shaky on it.. I apologize in advance), and I had to drop a show (Footloose) that I had been cast in... sigh.. sad day... Anyways, I'm getting better, so yay! I really want to thank everyone who wished me well and was there for me when I couldn't even be there for myself. You guys are awesome! I seriously love you all!**

 **Anyways... onto the story. As always, let me know what you think :)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing... literally...**

* * *

 **Part 9**

''Mione' Ron said as he poked her shoulder. She glared at him from behind her book, which she wasn't about to set down.

'What is it?' She asked, almost irritably. Lately, she hadn't been able to read in the slightest without being interrupted, and she was always interrupted at the most interesting parts!

'Gin is looking for you' He said with a shrug, ignoring how annoyed she sounded. He was used to that, it seemed.

'Why?' Hermione asked, frowning as she lowered her book slightly to glance around the common room. She didn't see Ginny, which just confused her more. It wasn't exactly a surprise that Hermione would be reading in the common room late on a Monday night, why didn't Ginny check here herself.

'Why would I know?' Ron retorted defensively before slumping on the couch beside her. 'She said something about Luna and that you'd know where they were, but that's it'

Hermione was standing the next second and placing her marked book on a side table. 'I'd better go see what's up' She said, almost frowning and doing her best to hide how anxious she was. Luna must be recruiting Ginny, she reasoned.

After a hurried goodbye to a baffled Ron, Hermione quickly made her way down to the forbidden forest, ignoring her better judgement, an inner voice that said _It's almost curfew. You shouldn't be out._

'This won't always be our meeting place because it's too special to a couple people, but it's the only place I knew Hermione would understand with a less than clear meaning.' Hermione heard Luna speaking as she neared the clearing. 'And I was right. She's here now'

Hermione frowned as Luna announced her presence, despite the fact that she hadn't stepped out of the dense thicket. With a small sigh at Luna's perceptiveness, she walked into the clearing, her head high.

''Mione!' Ginny exclaimed, scrambling to her feet from her previous seated position. Hermione tried not to frown at the fact that Ginny had been sitting where Draco usually sat. "Luna was just filling me in on this whole thing. Do you think it'll actually work? Do we have a name? What about secret messages? Did Zabini and Malfoy actually start it?"

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at Ginny's enthusiasm, and had to actually place her hand on the younger girls shoulder to get her to stop asking questions.

"I hope it will work, but we haven't gotten most of the details figured out" Hermione began answering the redhead's questions as she sat down in her spot. "So we don't have a name yet" She laughed, shifting slightly in her seat to get comfortable. "And yes, Malfoy, Zabini, and the Greengrass sisters seem to have started it. Is there anything else?"

At Hermione's inquiry, Ginny bit her lip, appearing to be deep in thought, before she grinned. "Naw" She said as she straightened her school robes. "Just be here in four nights right?". Hermione replied with a nod of her head.

"We should be going" Luna interrupted, grabbing the younger Gryffindor's hand and leading her out of the clearing so fast that Ginny barely had time to yell a "Goodbye" to Hermione. Frowning slightly at Luna's sudden insistence to leave, Hermione wasn't paying attention to the other side of the clearing, where a dragon sat, enjoying the exchange he had just watched. Before Hermione had noticed him, he had changed back into his human form.

"Little Red eh?" Draco questioned, and Hermione's attention snapped to the blond boy, showing her surprise at his presence for only a split second before shrugging.

"Yeah. Luna convinced her to come to the clearing, I'm sure so Ginny could confirm a few things with me" Hermione said, watching almost wearily as Draco walked over to her and sat at her feet. Out of habit, she began threading her fingers through his hair, kneading his scalp gently. He let out a sigh of contentment and she found herself humming.

"So that brings our numbers up to" Draco paused, fluttering his eyes closed as he thought "Nine"

"Nine?" Hermione questioned, her brows furrowing. "Who else have we recruited?"

"Blaise somehow managed to gain Zacharias Smith's trust, and Daphne was already friends with Hannah Abbot" Draco answered, shifting slightly so he was draped across Hermione's legs just a little more. "I have to say, having the Hufflepuff influence will help us greatly"

"Ever the cunning Slytherin" Hermione commented, causing Draco to chuckle.

"If the shoe fits"

Hermione's hands stilled and the Slytherin looked up at her, pouting at the lack of treatment, only to receive a fairly blank stare.

"I've never heard you make a muggle reference" She said semi softly. Draco rolled his eyes in response.

"Just because you've never heard me make one, doesn't mean I've never done it" He sassed, moving out from under her hands and choosing to sit beside her instead. She glanced at him, kicking herself mentally. Draco laughed.

"I recently went through a rebel phase where I basically participated in every muggle act I could think of." He explained with a small shrug. "Blaise and I snuck into a muggle town and managed to convince this group of teenagers that we were from this isolated island and didn't know anything of the modern world" a laugh broke his sentence, and he turned to face Hermione. "Which isn't entirely untrue, I guess, and they took pity on us and we spent a week learning anything and everything we could about that culture, under the pretense of going on a quidditch tour." He finished, his face practically glowing at the memory. Hermione couldn't help but think about how attractive he was when he was talking about something he enjoyed. His eyes brightened to a brilliant silver, his cheeks took on a slightly pink tinge, and his lips curved into a gorgeous smile. Hermione found herself slightly lost in, well, him.

"Anyways" Draco continued, pulling Hermione back to reality. "Want to go for a fly before curfew?"

Hermione frowned. Heights were still a problem for her, but how could she resist the hopeful urge in his voice or the excitement in his expression. Knowing that there was a possibility that she would regret it, Hermione nodded.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

There was no way Hermione could explain the feeling, and when she crawled through a window right beside the Gryffindor tower, she could honestly say she didn't want to be on solid ground. Naturally, at the beginning of the flight, she was completely and utterly terrified, but as she felt Draco straining not to go higher or faster, she realized how hard he was trying to make her feel safe, and she couldn't help but throw her fear away and trust him. Oh how glad she was that she decided to do so. After she gave him permission, he began flying a little higher, taking her over the black lake and around the different turrets of the castle. She relished in the feeling of the wind flying through her hair. The sensation that rested mostly in her stomach could only be explained as ecstasy.

As she watched the silver dragon fly away from her, towards the dungeons, she realized just how much Draco had changed her life in just a short amount of time. She was over her fear of heights, she had found a place of pure relaxation, she became a part of a group that could potentially change the world, and she was feeling things that she never had felt before.

With a happy smile, she turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady, spoke the password, and crawled into the Gryffindor common room feeling lighter than she had felt in a very long time.


	12. Chapter 10

**Hello my lovelies! I managed to write this! More or less. It's a little shorter than my usual chapters, but I didn't want to push it too much and mess up my plans for future chapters. Anyways, if you haven't already, you should check out my one-shot 'Escape'... I just posted it last night and, I have to say, It's pretty unlike most of what I've done. I would really appreciate some feedback on it. As always, let me know what you think of this. Hopefully my writing will come easier and better in the coming chapters, cause lately my muse has been off gallivanting somewhere.. but.. what do ya do right?**

 **Hey... If you're bored, check me out on Instagram... I don't think I'm super interesting, but I do roleplay there (It really helps with my writing... I think the only reason I've gotten to this point is because of roleplaying) and if you wanna do one with me, that'd be great. My username is the same as it is on here 'Littlemissslytherclaw'... And I think that's all I have to say on the matter. I hope you enjoy the chapter :)**

 **Disclaimer: Fanfiction... not original fiction... got that?**

* * *

 **Part 10**

"You're looking different" Harry said as he sat down beside Hermione, his butt barely touching the bench before his plate was practically filled with breakfast.

"How so?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow, turning to face her raven haired friend. "I haven't done anything different."

Harry studied her for a moment before frowning slightly. "You're smiling more" He deduced with a nod before turning back to his food. "Any particular reason you're smiling more?" He asked, filling his mouth with food as soon as he was done speaking.

"Do I need a reason to smile?" She inquired, her smile fading.

"With you? Yeah"

Hermione's smile faded completely and she was left looking almost disgusted. "Fine" She said as she stood up abruptly, slamming the book she had been reading into her book bag. "I'll stop smiling then. Hope that makes you happy"

With that said, she stalked out of the great hall, leaving a bewildered Harry Potter behind her. In her hurried state, she hadn't been paying much attention to where she was going and she ran head on into a certain, blond haired Slytherin.

"Watch where you're going" She snarled after catching herself. She watched as a myriad of emotions flashed across his features, growled slightly, and ran off, her feet working, more than her brain, to carry her to her desired location.

As soon as she sat on her stump, she regretted the way she had treated both of the boys, and she simply could not come up with an excuse for her behavior. Yeah, she was tired, and yeah, this whole 'Helping the Purebloods' took a lot careful thinking to avoid arousing suspicion, but it still was no excuse for acting this way.

She heard a twig snap, but didn't bother turning to look in the direction of the sound. She knew who it was. With a sigh, she figured it was time to make up to the boy.

"Look, Draco, I'm really sorry for that back there." She said, looking down at her hands, trying to fight the tears that were threatening to pool up in her eyes. "For some reason I've been super irritable, but that doesn't give me the right to act in the manner that I did"

As Hermione was met with silence, Hermione frowned afraid she had really screwed up. But had she really? She had just run into him and responded less than kindly. Was that really something to ignore her over?

"Draco" she said, standing up and turning around to face him, her next word 'Please' on the tip of her tongue. Only it wasn't Draco staring at her.

"Harry" She said, frowning as the green eyed boy stood, looking completely baffled, with his mouth hanging open. "What are you doing here?" She asked nervously as she played over what she had just said, hoping she could switch her words around so he wouldn't be suspicious. The only problem was that she had said Draco's name, not once, but twice.

Harry's eyes were wildly moving back and forth, at such a speed that Hermione was sure he wasn't able to see anything, as he tried to overcome the shock that had set in.

"Harry?" Hermione prompted, biting her lip as she looked at her best friend in concern.

It was silent, again, and Hermione's fears, concerning the 'blood traitors' and their being found out too early, playing in her head. All of Draco's careful work could be for nothing.

"You said" Harry said, sliding his fingers under his glasses to rub his eyes. "You said Malfoy's name. Why did you say Malfoy's name?". His voice was shaky and quiet as he spoke, though Hermione could hear the fight building up in it.

"Harry, I-"

"Is this where you've been disappearing to?" He questioned, no longer using a quiet tone, but speaking on the verge of a yell.

"Harry plea-"

"Is HE why you've been so bloody jolly lately?"

His voice was louder this time, and his face was red with anger. Hermione could understand that he was upset, but such anger?

"Just let me exp-"

"NO HERMIONE!" he bellowed, nearing her. Hermione could honestly say she had never been afraid of her friend before this moment, however, when he towered over her, completely enraged, Hermione couldn't help but feel a small spark of fear settle in her stomach.

"DRACO MALFOY IS A GOOD FOR NOTHING PIECE OF SCUM" he bellowed, leaning down and getting closer to her face. She backed away, eyes wide and hands shaky, tripping over a large, fallen branch.

"No he isn't" She replied forcefully, despite being on the ground. Harry growled and bent down to grip her wrist, pulling her up harshly, causing her to let out a small yelp.

"C'mon 'Mione" He said in a low, dangerous tone. "We need to get you away from here." He glanced around in disgust before sneering "Away from him".

As he began to drag her away, Hermione slipped from his grasp, using her newfound momentum to push him away before she started running in the opposite direction of the castle. She had always been a faster runner than him, as he had always grown too much for his muscles to truly keep up, and within seconds she had put a lot of distance between the two. She could hear him calling for her, but she didn't stop. She may have been irrational to flee from him as if he were a Death Eater, but she couldn't help the adrenaline that coursed through her as soon as the fear had pitted in her stomach.

After running till her legs burned, and being absolutely certain that he wasn't following, Hermione slowed in order to gain sense of her surroundings. Unfortunately there was no sense to be gained. She didn't recognize anything.

Hermione turned around, hoping to see where she had come from, but found no hints, only trees. She whirled around again to see a scene identical to the one behind her. Trees, trees, and more trees. She was completely and utterly lost.

Her breathing quickened in panic and she nervously ran both of her fingers through her hair, trying desperately to calm down enough to think properly, but had no luck. She was lost in the forbidden forest, the sounds of unknown creatures surrounding her, unable to breath properly.

As her panic grew stronger, her senses weakened, and as she went to go in the direction she thought she had come from, she tripped over some unknown thicket. Crashing to the ground, and hitting her head on one of the rocks, that littered the forest floor, Hermione Granger fell unconscious.


	13. Update 3

Hi guys. I'm doing another phone update. I am afraid my computer has gone past the point of actually being usable. I can't spend more than like... 20 mins on it before it crashes and if it even tries to open any sort of internet it crashes soooo... sigh... Unfortunately that means no proper update... however, I am getting a lot of outlining done for a book I'm writing (and a complex fanfic that I'll be sharing once I have a computer and am done with The Silver Dragon) so yeah... I might try and do a phone chapter, but those always turn out crappy with far too many mistakes and it rarely flows so I might not... also, if I can get to it, I may be able to write/upload through the library, but my writing hours are not compatible with library hours. Maybe next week I might be able to set aside some time for it... now I'm just rambling, but yeah. I apologize my friends. Not writing really sucks. I need a new laptop.


	14. Chapter 11

**HEY! I'M BACK! Hopefully...**

 **I'm so sorry for my** **inactivity. I'm working on a borrowed computer that can't handle the internet very well, so even when I can use the computer, it won't work for me and it's annoying.**

 **I should be getting a new one soon. Hopefully after this next paycheck I'll be able to afford one...**

 **This chapter is kinda super thrown together. I've also been trying to deal with writers block and its ANNOYING! So hopefully this doesn't disappoint too much... As always, please let me know what you think.. And check out my other stories!**

 **Disclaimer: I, in no way, own HP or the Wizarding Universe.**

* * *

Part 11

Her head hurt. That was what she noticed first. It really hurt. Did she hit it? And where was she? Wasn't she just in the great hall? Everything was fuzzy. She vaguely remembered Harry yelling, but what was he yelling about? Why couldn't she open her eyes? Why couldn't she hear anything?

Where was Draco?

'And you say you found her at the edge of the lake?' A voice pushed through the haze. Hermione tried to place it, but couldn't.

'Yes Ma'am' a younger voice answered. This voice belonged to Ginny Weasley, Hermione knew that much, but it still didn't answer a lot of her questions. And she still couldn't open her eyes.

'Well it was good of you to bring her to me. That's a nasty cut she's got on her head. With her unconsciousness, I wouldn't doubt she has a concussion' The older voice explained as Hermione felt the woman's fingers gently prodding her head.

Madam Pomphrey.

So she was in the hospital wing with what seemed to be a concussion. That filled in some holes, but it still left out what she was doing by the lake and why Harry was yelling.

Not that it mattered much, because Madam Pomphrey managed to slip something down her throat and she found herself swimming into the land of unconsciousness once more.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'Hermione' a soft voice said. Hermione went rigid. Why couldn't she place the voice? Where was she? What happened? Why did her head hurt so much?

Oh.

Right. She was in the hospital wing, found at the edge of the lake. At least this time she could open her eyes, which she did.

And she found Draco.

'What happened?' she croaked, trying to ignore how worried he looked. It was Draco Malfoy. If he was worried, then something must be really wrong right?

'Potter followed you into the forest' Draco said with a frown, shifting awkwardly in his seat beside her bed. 'It took me forever to find you. You were really far in.'

Hermione took note of how his voice cracked when he said 'far'. She quickly pushed that aside as another question came up.

'Madam Pomphrey said something about Ginny finding me near the lake' she half stated, though her question was fairly detectable in the words. Draco gave a slight nod.

'I enlisted little Red's help. Didn't think it would do too good for our cause to be seen carrying you into the hospital wing just yet'

At his answer, Hermione let out a small sigh and closed her eyes. Her head still hurt and it was getting hard to keep them open.

'That was probably smart' She managed, her eyes tightening as she tried to block out the pain. She felt Draco's hand on hers and felt tears well up behind her eyes.

'Oh Draco, what do I do?'

There was a small silence, at which Hermione opened her eyes to see Draco looking just as lost and confused as she felt. She watched as his eyes seemed to search for a clue, but obviously not finding one.

'I don't know' He said softly, looking down and tightening his hand around hers. 'But you should probably go back to sleep. You need to heal.'

Hermione bit her lip and nodded.

'Good idea' she said softly before laying back down. The last thing she remembered, as she once again slipped into unconsciousness, was the blond Slytherin pulling the blanket up to her chin and whispering goodnight.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

' _You said… You said Malfoy's name. Why did you say Malfoy's name?'_

' _Harry, I-'_

' _Is this where you've been disappearing to?'_

' _Harry plea-'_

' _Is HE why you've been so bloody jolly lately?'_

' _Just let me exp-'_

' _NO HERMIONE!'_

 _He was above her. He was yelling. She was scared._

' _DRACO MALFOY IS A GOOD FOR NOTHING PIECE OF SCUM'_

 _There was pain. He was still yelling. She was now on the ground, but still afraid._

' _No he isn't'_

 _There was more pain. He was pulling her by the wrist. Her fear grew._

' _C'mon 'Mione… We need to get you away from here. Away from him'._

 _She got away. She was running. She was terrified._

 _He was pursuing._

 _There were only trees. Only trees and terror._

 _And darkness._

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

Hermione awoke with a jolt.

Her head no longer hurt, but her chest did. It felt like all the air had been sucked from her lungs. It felt like a hippogriff had crash-landed on her. It felt like her heart was tearing.

' 'Mione?' a timid voiced called and Hermione's wild eyes turned to meet the voices owner. Oh how she wished she hadn't, for she came face to face with the one person she was currently afraid of.

Harry Potter sat in the chair beside her bed, the chair most recently occupied by Draco Malfoy, and he looked worse than Hermione felt. His eyes were red and puffy, his clothes were dirty and torn, and his hair was far beyond its usual messy with twigs and leaves sticking out at random intervals.

Hermione felt her throat close in. She couldn't muster up any words. She could only stare.

' 'Mione, I'm so sorry'

She wanted him to leave. She wanted to leave. She wanted to go back to sleep, nice and safe under the covers.

'I just got so caught up in getting you away from him that I lost control' she heard him say, but she was no longer looking at him. 'I should've gone about it differently. I should have found a way to make you understand. I should have-'

He trailed off, but Hermione still stared at her hands.

' 'Mione look at me!' he cried out, his fists hitting the edge of her bed, causing her to flinch.

The fear gnawed at her stomach and she hated it. She hated being scared of her best friend. She hated feeling powerless. But most of all, right now, she hated him.

'Potter!' A voice called from across the room. Hermione still didn't lift her eyes. 'Please leave my patient alone. She's been through a lot in the last few hours and needs her rest.'

The young witch could've kissed Madame Pomphrey at that moment, especially since Harry heaved a great sigh and stood up.

'When you're better' he said and Hermione raised her gaze to look at him. His eyes held enough guilt to startle her.

And she hated him even more.

'When you're better, we are going talk.'


	15. Chapter 12

**AAAHHHHHHHH!**

 **I had started working on this chapter and it was amazing and fantastic, then the borrowed computer decided to randomly turn off, making me loose my chapter! So it's not nearly as flowy as I wanted it to be, but I was just having such a hard time trying to replicate it and... sigh...**

 **So I don't have a new computer yet... and school starts soon... uh-oh... Please wish me luck, because there is no way I can do 18 credits of writing courses on this thing.. Absolutely no way...**

 **As always, let me know what you think, or let me know of errors I make, or let me know of ideas you might have because I kinda have no idea where I'm going with this story... .. . . . . .**

 **And you should read my other stories! I have one called 'I've Missed You' that doesn't really have much in the way of views, and is a different style than I usually do. I really wanna know what people think about it!**

 **Disclaimer: I think, if you read this, you will see that I'm definitely not J.K. Rowling, and if I'm not J.K. Rowling, then I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Part 12

Hermione wearily looked around the corridor outside the hospital wing. Madame Pomphrey had released the young witch roughly five minutes ago, but Hermione couldn't find the courage to even step out into the hall. She found herself praying desperately that she didn't run into her best friend on her way back to her dormitory.

If she could even call him her best friend. With the way he had reacted to her recent relations and projects, she wasn't sure if she'd every trust him again.

Before she could force herself out of the doorway to the hospital wing, she heard a familiar voice call out to her rather timidly.

'Mione' Hermione snapped her head up to meet the eyes of her other best friend. The tug of fear pulled at the pit of her stomach as she realized that Ron might not be so fond of her decisions either. Her hands shook slightly as he took a few more steps towards her, his face unreadable.

'Ginny told me everything' he said simply, stopping only a foot or two in front of her.

Hermione's eyes widened and she, involuntarily, took a step back.

'Everything?' she whispered, her face forming into a deep frown, preparing herself for the backlash of her actions.

'Everything' Ron repeated and Hermione found her body tightening. 'Draco, the Slytherins, Harry. All of it'

As Ron spoke, Hermione noticed how intently he was watching her and she quickly tried to school her features into something other than apprehension, though wasn't able to keep a light expression when she saw Ron's shoulders tighten in anger.

She gripped her hands together to keep them from shaking.

'I support you Hermione' Ron said quickly, taking another step closer to her. 'Even if it means going against Harry'

Needless to say, that was not what Hermione thought he would say next.

'W-what?' She managed before Ron pulled her into a gently hug. 'But he's practically your brother'

Hermione felt Ron's muscles tense around her, but his voice was soft. 'And you are practically my sister. If you need help, I'll be here, and if you trust Malfoy, then I'll trust him too. If Harry can't do the same, then that is his problem.'

The young witch would have to say she was dumbfounded, which didn't happen often, but that didn't stop her from finally wrapping her arms around her friend and letting herself relax into his embrace.

'I'm still allowed to think Malfoy is a git though, right?' Ron asked lightly and Hermione found herself giggling slightly.

'Definitely' She said happily, the fear in her stomach completely dissipating 'No matter what, Malfoy will always be a git.'

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'The Room of Requirement?' Draco questioned, looking up at Hermione from his position on the forest's floor. 'I've heard of it, though I've never seen it'

Hermione grinned, her fingers pausing in their task of combing his hair. 'Remember fifth year? With that awful Umbridge?'. Draco shuddered and laid his head back on her leg.

'How can anyone forget her?'

'I do my best' Hermione replied with a small shudder of her own before she continued on with playing with the blond boys hair. 'Well a few of us used the room for actually putting the defensive spells to use. We called ourselves Dumbledore's Army.'

Draco snickered slightly, earning himself a light smack on the head, compliments of Hermione.

'In any case' she resumed, sounding annoyed, but not really feeling it. She was more happy than anything else. 'I figured it would be a great place for our meetings. Maybe I can even try and replicate the protean charms for contacting our members'

'Protean charms?' Draco questioned, shifting slightly beneath Hermione's hands, compelling her to move them again. She, subconsciously, began playing with his hair once more. 'You used protean charms in fifth year?'

'You weren't the only child who could do advanced magic' Hermione laughed. 'If we use protean charms, what object should we put them on?' She asked, her eyes closing in thought.

'Maybe something that can be put on a necklace?' Draco offered and Hermione let out a small hum of approval.

'That could work. I'll bring it up at our next meeting.' She said before opening her eyes and looking down at Draco. 'How many members do we have?'

'Erm' He thought for a moment 'We have you, me, Daphne, Astoria, Blaise, Little Red, Big Red, Lovegood, Smith, Abbot, Macmillan, and some girl named Lisa Turpin'

'Lisa Turpin?' Hermione frowned 'She's a Ravenclaw right?'

'I think so'

'So eleven?'

'Yeah'

A silence fell over the two teenagers, though it wasn't uncomfortable. It was just peaceful. Something, however, was tugging at Hermione's thoughts, and she found herself biting her lip.

'Do you think Harry will ever join us?' She asked softly and she heard Draco sigh.

'I don't know' He replied honestly, sitting up so he could look at her before smiling a slightly sad smile and pulling Hermione off her nature made chair. She soon found herself of the ground beside the Slytherin, being hugged. He wrapped both of his arms around her, gently pressing her head to his chest.

'I hope he does' Draco said softly, his thumb softly brushing back and forth on her shoulder. 'For your sake, if nothing else'


	16. Chapter 13

**Hello! Look how quickly I was able to update!**

 **My coworker called me thirteen minutes before his shift to beg me to cover for him... he even woke me up... but I did it... because... I got to make money!.. I'm exhausted though..**

 **Anyways. Let me know what you think of this... and please let me know if you have any ideas that I could explore. I'm totally pulling this out of nowhere! I'm so lost it's not even funny. This was supposed to be a two or three shot... not a full blown story!**

 **But I'm enjoying it! It's making me very happy to write it :)**

 **Disclaimer: I think, if I owned HP, I'd actually know what I was doing before releasing stuff about it. I have no idea what I'm doing, therefore, I do not own HP**

* * *

Part 13

' _I need a place for a group meeting'_ Hermione thought as she paced a small stretch of the seventh floor. After turning around three times, she stopped and stared at the corridor wall, right across from Barnabas the Barmy's portrait.

A door appeared, but it wasn't the door the young witch expected. What she had in mind was a door similar to the one that was used for the DA. Big and grand. However, she was met with a simple steel door that was barely big enough for a single student.

' _So much for impressing the Slytherins'_ Hermione thought bitterly.

Frowning, she turned the handle and pushed gently, hoping the inside of the room met her expectations a little better.

It didn't.

What she found was a square room divided into four sections. The section to her left was heavily padded and had a dueling dummy on the floor. The next section was covered in various magical plants with a work station in the middle. The third section housed a table with a cauldron and some random tools. The last section held an ice box and a couch. The couch held a boy.

Hermione frowned and tilted her head to get a better look at the room's occupant.

'Neville?' She said, her voice sounding strange in the strangely decorated room.

The wizard let out a groan, blinked a few times, and stood up.

'Hermione?' Neville asked, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes. He looked up at the girl with a frown on his face. 'What are you doing here?'

Hermione frowned at the excitement that began creeping into his voice.

'Are we starting up the DA again? I know Dumbledore is still headmaster and all, and we've got a decent defense professor, but still. All of us could use the extra practice with what's going on and all'

Hermione's frown morphed into a look of intense thinking.

'Well' the young witch said hesitantly. 'Not exactly the DA'

Neville's smile dropped. 'What do you mean by not exactly?'

Wringing her hands together and biting her lip, she took a couple steps towards Neville and lowered her voice. She wasn't necessarily afraid that someone would overhear her, nor was she embarrassed by what she was about to say. No. She just felt like it was a subject to lower her voice towards.

'Neville? Do you trust me?'

It was silent for less than a second just long enough for the Gryffindor to straighten up and nod his head slightly, looking quite like a determined lion.

'Of course I do'

Hermione let out a small sigh of relief.

'Good. Than listen up and please don't interrupt'

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'This is weird' Neville said, his voice as to the point as usual.

'I second that sentiment Longbottom' Draco replied, also in a very businesslike tone. Hermione couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips.

'Erm' the Gryffindor boy said awkwardly, causing Hermione to look up from studying her surroundings. The three of them were in the Room of Requirement, which Neville had been using for the last two years to practice magic. 'If we are going to be working together, maybe we should address each other by our first names?'

Hermione had to stifle the laugh that was building in her throat. While she wasn't expecting the pair of them to become best buddies, nor had she expected them to constantly be at each other's throats, she certainly didn't expect this awkwardness.

'Okay' Draco nodded before adding 'Neville'

'Alright… Draco'

Hermione couldn't help it anymore. She either had to break the awkwardness by words, or start laughing, and she didn't want to hurt their feelings, so she cleared her throat.

'So you've been using this room since fifth year?' She asked, going back to examining the section dedicated to Herbology.

'Yeah' Neville replied with a grin 'The Room and I are pretty great mates'

Draco raised his eyebrow. 'In what ways does the Room show it's friendship?' He asked, causing the Gryffindor to shrug.

'I barely have to have a thought and the Room does it for me. And sometimes food will just appear if I haven't eaten in a while. Just really random things'

Curiously, Hermione began inspecting the walls of the room. 'Do you think you can ask it to provide a meeting space for us while still keeping your practice sections?'

Before Neville's grin could grow wider, the room began to rumble under the three seventh years' feet.

It lasted a total of ten seconds, but a lot had happened. Nothing that the teenagers could see, mind you, but a lot nonetheless.

'but of course' Neville finally replied after the shaking and noise stopped. After looking at Neville's slightly smug expression, Hermione was immensely glad that Draco looked a little paler than normal.

Without a word, Hermione walked over to the door and opened it. She wasn't expecting to see the corridor, but she also wasn't expecting what she saw.

The small steel door opened into a room slightly larger than the Gryffindor common room, though that's where the resemblance to the lion's den broke off. Both the walls and the floor were made of the stone, exactly like most of the rooms throughout the castle, and the furnishings all looked a mix between comfortable and majestic. The common theme contained dark mahogany wood and a range of earth tones.

There were multiple couches, seats, and small tables. On some of the side tables there were stacked books, along one wall there was a large bookshelf filled to the brim with an assortment of books and other items, and in a corner there was a kitchenette. At one end of the room sat a conference table, which sat twenty, and behind the table the entire wall was a chalkboard. It took a moment for Hermione to realize that a few sticks of chalk had begun to write on the wall.

'Soldiers for Silver' Draco stated, reading the chalkboard. He let out a small chuckle. 'I like it'

Neville walked up behind the two, grinning. 'Yeah, not only does it represent Slytherin, it also falls between black and white so it represents balance, and most people associate the universe as a sort of silvery blend of colors, which I guess represents unity. It all fits in with theme we are going for, right?'

Hermione, with excitement building in her heart, nodded.

'Right'


	17. Chapter 14

**Hey, all. Sorry for my extended absence. I just started my junior year of college and it is so stressful. I've literally never done so much reading and writing in my life. I guess that's what I get for going into the creative writing field, but... what else would I do?**

 **This chapter is probably crap. It's my first time writing something other than non-fiction, poetry, and academic writing in well over two months, so I'm a little rusty... and I have no idea where I'm going with this story. Like... none at all. If any of you have any good ideas for a revolution, please tell me! I'm lost!**

 **Enough of me waxing lyrical (or whatever it's called) and let's get on with this!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own HP. Never have, never will.**

* * *

Part 14

Hermione paced the forest floor, almost anxiously, and her fingers were kneading what looked like a plain, silver ring. It wasn't ordinary but, then again, neither was she, nor was Draco, whom she was waiting for.

'You'll wear a hole in your shoes' the boy drawled from his place in the shadows, causing Hermione to turn around, rather quickly, to look at him.

'You're late' she replied before taking a few steps forwards and holding the ring out to him. He took it slowly, carefully, and exhaled in disbelief.

'Is this really it?' he asked in awe, looking at the ring from multiple directions. 'The master ring?'

Hermione nodded and took an identical ring off of the pointer finger on her left hand. 'Engrave it' she said, pointedly looking at the ring Draco held. He bit his lip, slipped his wand out of his pocket, pointed it at the band of silver, and whispered something under his breath. A thin inscription appeared on the inside of both rings, which both began to feel warm, and the teenagers grinned.

 _Soldiers for Silver_

'Now we just have to distribute these to the rest of the members' Draco said, his excitement growing. Hermione could feel the same excitement bubbling in her own chest. They were well on their way to completing the task they had set out to do. To unite the school.

'Are we still at twelve?' she asked, slipping the newly engraved, silver band back onto her finger. Draco put his on his right hands thumb.

'Fourteen' he corrected 'Abbot managed to recruit Justin Finch-Fletchley and Wayne Hopkins. At the rate she's recruiting, we'll have all of Hufflepuff on our side in no time.'

Hermione nodded 'That's good. We could use their strength in loyalty'.

'Exactly' Draco said before a slight smirk settled upon his pale lips. 'Want to go for a fly?'

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'You passed them out?' Hermione asked the redhead, who grinned back at her. The pair was in the Gryffindor common room, speaking in hushed tones. Hermione was pacing, as always, and Ginny was sprawled out on one of the large armchairs.

'Of course I did. It was fun.'

'And everyone's expecting a message to come in soon?'

'Yup'

'Are you wearing your ring?'

'Around my neck'

'Is it warming up?'

'Merlin's pants, Hermione!' Ginny exclaimed, exasperated 'Calm down. Everything's going smoothly'

Hermione frowned and sank into the chair beside Ginny's. 'I know. I'm just nervous'.

Ginny let out a small laugh, and was about to reply, before her eyes widened. Hermione felt it too. The rings were heating up.

'It's time' the brunette whispered excitedly before taking her ring off and looking at the inscription. Directions to the Room of Requirement. Just as planned.

Without another word, Hermione grabbed Ginny's hand and set off for the special room, her stomach flipping over itself with nerves. Before either of them really had time to process it, they found themselves on the seventh floor, sneaking into the room. It was still set up perfectly, occupied by Neville, Draco, and Blaise. Hermione grinned.

Soon enough, all fourteen members had arrived, and all quieted down as Draco stood up.

'Friends' he said after taking a deep breath. 'This is the Room of Requirement. It will be our official meeting space, and the rings will be our communication. Because this is such a sensitive mission we are beginning, I will ask you to keep your rings on you at all times. As you've figured out, they get warm with an incoming message. It won't burn you. It shouldn't even feel uncomfortable. It will just notify you. The messages will always be engraved on the inside of the ring, so you'll have to take them off to read it. Please wait until you have some privacy before taking them off to get a look. We don't want any ill-wishers to catch sight of something important.'

He paused to take a breath and Hermione let her eyes stray from his form to the expressions on the faces around her. What she found pleased her. Everyone was paying attention, and everyone looked excited. However, her eyes were drawn back to Draco as soon as he began to speak again.

'Most protean charms make it so only the original, or Master Ring, can send messages, but this brilliant witch' he gestured to Hermione. Her face went red. 'managed to make it so that anyone can send a message through a simple transfiguration and engraving spell. If you need better clarification on that, talk to Hermione. Any questions?'

Draco paused, waiting for someone to speak up with a question. When no one did, he gave a short nod.

'Very well. Let's move on to business. We are still in the recruitment stage, so nothing incredibly exciting will be going on just yet. I believe we should start training as well, just because everyone could use a little more experience under their wands in these times, so more will be brought up about that.'

'What do you all say to making tentative plans of a meeting next week and try and challenge everyone here to bring at least one other person?' Draco asked, smiling lightly when he heard a chorus of 'sure's and 'sounds good's.

'Perfect' he said. 'If there isn't anything else, then let's just talk a bit. Our goal here is to build relationships and bonds of trust, so let's get to that, alright?'

* * *

 **A/N 2.0: You guys have no idea how hard it is to write inspirational speeches. Or maybe you do. Maybe you're good at it. Maybe I'm weird for not being good at it. Anyhow. Have a good day. Or night. I love you all! and please... leave feedback! I always love to hear what I could use some work on! as an aspiring writer, I can never get enough constructive criticism!**


	18. Chapter 15

**Hi all. I'm so sorry for being so inactive. Life has been pretty crazy. Both my personal and school life feel like they are partially falling apart and partially building up so perfectly. It's a roller coaster.**

 **But hopefully I'll be getting better... Please let me know what you think and what not. You know the drill...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Yup. That's all I'll say about it.**

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Part 15

The past week had passed quickly, at least to Hermione, mostly full of homework and a few flights with Draco. Soon enough, though, she found herself sitting in a room full of more than twenty faces, about half looking curious, if not a bit confused, and the other half a bubble of conversation.

The room was loud and cheery, and the young witch didn't want to disturb that, but they had to get on with their meeting. She cleared her throat and silence, nearly immediately, fell.

'Welcome back friends' She said with a smile, her stomach twisting slightly. She may be bright and incredibly brave, but public speaking is difficult, especially if she isn't talking about a topic that was strictly to do with facts one could learn in books.

'I hope your week went well, and I see we have acquired some new faces. I'm sure your friends have let you in on our mission, but I'll still reiterate a few important notes. Firstly, our goal is to unite the four houses. Our world is based on biases and hurt that stems from family and Hogwarts house feuds. We want to change that. We want to make a school where there isn't a bad or good house, where everyone feels they can cooperate with everyone, where someone can walk into any room and feel accepted. We want Hogwarts to be a family.

'Secondly, the world outside is dangerous. We need to be able to protect ourselves. So that's why we are going to start practicing our magic in here. It's safer than doing it in the halls, as the room is magical and will help us when we need it to. If I could talk to Ginny, Neville, Daphne, Blaise, Lisa, Luna, Hannah, and Justin in just a moment, that'd be great.

'I think that's all I have to say. Don't be afraid to hang around for a moment. We have cookies and butterbeer, thanks to Zacharias and Astoria, so eat and be merry' she concluded with a small laugh. There was a small spattering of applause before the room became full of chatter once more.

As she had asked, the select few she had called out, plus Draco, who set his hand on Hermione's shoulder, came forward. Ginny raised a questioning eye and Hermione just nodded her head once, as if telling the young red-head to wait.

'I want to pair you guys off and have you create certain obstacles, lessons, or situations for our group to take part in and learn from. Are you up for the challenge?' she asked. When all of them answered with a yes, she smiled.

'Good. Neville, you're with Hannah. Ginny and Daphne, you guys will be together.' She paused, glancing at Blaise, who's eyes kept flickering to a blissfully unaware Luna 'Blaise, why don't you pair up with Luna. And Justin and Lisa will be our final pairing'

Everyone nodded with Hermione, made eye contact with their partners, and were about to walk away before Draco interrupted their movements. 'Ginny and Daphne, do you think you can have something planned by next week?'

The two girls laughed simultaneously 'Of course we can, Draco' Daphne replied, and Ginny winked at him. He replied with a small chuckle.

'I guess I shouldn't doubt you two' he said.

'Just make sure you guys don't get caught conversing together' Hermione said hurriedly, to the whole group. 'The school isn't ready for mixed-house communication yet.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

'Where have you guys been?' a tired voice asked as soon as Hermione, Ron, and Ginny walked into the Gryffindor tower. It was late, so none of them expected anyone to be up, but lo and behold, Harry was sitting in one of the large, red armchairs.

Hermione almost sneered a defensive reply when she saw the state that he was in. His glasses were cracked and there was a small cut close to his hairline. He was covered in dirt and grime and his clothes were torn. He looked like he just escaped an unfair brawl in a nasty location.

'What happened to you?' she breathed, running towards the raven-haired boy. Her wand quickly slipped into her hand as she began muttering spells under her breath. Healing and repairing spells.

'You would know if you hadn't been sneaking off to untraceable places' He replied, pushing her wand away and standing up. 'now, where were you?'. Hermione took a few, tentative steps back, her hand gripping her wand tighter.

Ron cleared his throat and walked up to the boy who lived, placing his hand gently on the wizard's shoulder. 'Mate, now's not the time. How about we get you cleaned up, get some good sleep, and talk in the morning?'

Harry sighed and stood up, wincing through his movements. 'Alright,' he consented, his previously harsh demeanor slipping away, leaving him looking young, lost, and injured.

'Will you let me help you now?' Hermione asked slowly, keeping her voice calm as she took a slow step towards Harry. When he neither answered nor fought her off she returned to doing her healing spells, biting her lip in concentration.

'We need to talk tomorrow,' Harry said, sounding defeated as he slumped back into the arm-chair, his head in his hands. 'There's just so much going on. I don't-' his voice broke off. Ron laid his hand on Harry's shoulder.

'It's okay. We know. Just… rest for now.'


	19. Chapter 16

**Hi friends!**

 **As usual, I'm not feeling great (This really seems to be a pattern... sigh...) but I couldn't let that stop me from writing something. I finally feel like I have some control over this story so.. YAY!**

 **Want to hear what I've done today? I've watched far too many hours of TV, eaten microwaved eggs, and re-read this fanfic (to get myself comfortable with it again)... huh... maybe that's why I'm not feeling good?**

 **Goodness! I need to do something with my life!**

 **As always... Please let me know what you think. Critiques, comments, thoughts, and so on... I need them. I really do.**

 **Disclaimer: Should I even bother?**

* * *

 **Part 16**

Hermione groaned, putting her head in her hands as the clatter of the great hall filled her ears and thoughts. She hadn't slept at all the night before because she was too worried about the conversation they were supposed to have with Harry.

'The boys are on their way down,' Ginny said, putting her hand on Hermione's shoulder, as she sat down. Sticking to her Weasley heritage, she began piling food up on her plate immediately. She even began making a plate for Hermione.

'Gin. I don't want to eat right now,' Hermione sighed, earning a glare from the redhead. 'I'm too worried about how Harry's going to react! You can't fault me for that."

Ginny, still glaring at Hermione, began buttering a piece of toast before holding it in front of Hermione, practically stuffing it in her friend's mouth. 'I don't care,' she said with a determined stare. 'You will eat willingly or I'll make you eat.'

Hermione frowned, but quietly relented and took a bite of the toast. Ginny smiled a victory smile, though was soon too lost in her own worries to keep it up. Less than a minute later, Ron and Harry were taking their seats across from the two girls.

'Morning, 'Mione' Ron said, already filling his plate up. Hermione nodded in response, quickly taking another bite so she could have something to do with her mouth.

'After charms,' Harry began, only to be cut off by Ron placing a hand on his shoulder.

'Yeah, mate. After charms, we'll talk.'

Hermione sighed and returned to her toast. It tasted like parchment, dry and plain, but she ate it anyway. Ginny would have her head if she didn't.

She felt a burning gaze on her, and glanced up, her eyes instantly connected with those of Theodore Nott. Her stomach fell away and the toast, which she had been nibbling on, clattered to her plate.

' 'Mione?' Ron questioned, turning to see what had caught her eye. Harry turned as well.

'Slimy snake,' Harry began, his eyes darkening as he turned back to Hermione with a snarl. 'The whole lot of them are good for nothing.'

His words caused Ron to sigh and turn back to his food. 'Ignore him,' Ron muttered. Hermione wasn't sure if he was talking about Nott or Harry.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

Professor Flitwick, after detailing the weekends homework, let the Gryffindors and Slytherins go in his usual cheerful manner. Hermione had to say that she wasn't sharing his joy. Dread was building up in the pit of her stomach as she packed up her bag. It must have been obvious because, as the classroom emptied, someone walked up beside her and cleared his throat.

'What's the matter, little lioness?' Blaise said under his breath, pretending to be shifting through his bag, giving him a reason to have stopped. 'You seem troubled.'

Hermione raised her eyebrows but kept up with his little game. 'Harry is on to us and I'm not sure how he's going to take the truth.'

'You going to need backup?' Blaise questioned. Hermione was a little surprised to hear obvious worry in his voice. It wasn't as if she didn't think much of him. More like, she didn't think that he had thought much of her.

'I'll have Ron and Ginny, but thanks,' she finished before flashing him the tiniest of smiles and turning around.

Oh, she almost wished she hadn't. Harry was staring at her, his eyes dark, with his hands gripping his bag. She could swear his knuckles were turning white.

'That's my que to leave,' Blaise said under his breath as he gave Hermione a 'good luck' look and quickly made his way out of the classroom. Within seconds, it was just the Golden Trio inside.

'Zabini's a part of it too?' Harry sneered, dropping his bag to the ground. 'Let me guess. Everyone except me knows what you guys are planning!'

Ginny, who had just walked into the classroom, gave him a light smack upside the head. 'Don't be a total idiot, you poor martyr.' She said, challenging him to fight back. When he didn't, she gave a small, victory grin.

'Look, mate,' Ron started, almost looking nervous. Hermione definitely had that in common with him. 'We would have told you earlier if we had thought you would accept it, but with the way you attacked Hermione, we just couldn't take that chance.'

Ok, maybe that wasn't what Hermione had in mind. As Harry began to turn red, nearly bubbling over in rage, Hermione put her hands up in a peace offering.

'What he means to say,' She quickly interjected, wincing slightly as Harry's glare became fixated on her. 'is that you don't always take things the best right off the bat, especially if it concerns the Slytherins, and we were having a really difficult time just trying to keep ourselves in check to be able to explain things properly to you.'

Harry's glare was not subsiding.

Ginny quickly put a hand on his shoulder, attempting to be comforting. 'We know you're a good guy, but you also aren't the most reasonable when it comes to something you are truly passionate about.' She paused awkwardly before adding, 'or against.'

'You all thought I'd blow up and ruin whatever you're planning?' His voice had finally lost some of its venom. Hermione frowned when she realized how defeated her friend looked.

'We were a little afraid of that, yes.' She admitted, biting her lip softly. 'And we didn't want to have something happen that we'd all regret, so we thought it best to leave you out of it until we knew what to do.'

Harry sat down at one of the desks, putting his head in his hands. 'Merlin,' He muttered, causing Hermione to wince. An awkward tension filled the classroom, and no one felt brave enough to break it.

'How could I have been so stupid?' He finally said, looking up at Hermione. The tears that glistened his cheeks shocked her into, yet, another silence. 'I made things so bad that you didn't think you could trust me anymore.'

He was right, of course, but Hermione wasn't going to say that. Instead, she walked forward and put her hands on his shoulders. 'You made a mistake,' she said, referring to when he had attacked her, 'but so did we. Can we put it all behind us and work together like we've done for the last six years?'

Harry sighed and put his hands over his. Hermione watched as he glanced at both Ron and Ginny, who were standing supportively behind her, before his eyes landed back on hers.

'Of course,' he croaked, moving his hands so he could wipe the tears off of his cheeks.

The tension was finally released as Hermione pulled Harry into a hug. He soon pushed himself away and picked his school bag up off of the ground, letting loose a small laugh.

'Thank Merlin,' he said, awkwardly turning to the three of his friends. 'Because I have some news for you as well.'


	20. Chapter 17

**'Ello loves!**

 **It's nearly two in the morning... I stayed up to finish writing this (cause I just had to). It's a bit of a fluff chapter, not gonna lie. Actually... come to think of it... most of my chapters are pretty fluffy... even the emotional/intense ones...**

 **If you want to read more intense stuff... read like... Coping or Together or I Missed You or Scars (although... Scars gets fluffy by the end, if memory serves correctly [wait.. didn't you write it?] yes I did [so why does memory have to serve] I don't know. get off my back! [fine])**

 **... What just happened?**

 **I'm tired, y'all. It's been a long week.. I know it's only Tuesday, but it's been a long and emotional and painful week.. so please deal with my slight insanity in the authors note... Or skip over it!**

 **I'm going to be typical and ask you to please leave comments... constructive ones. I'm trying to improve my writing, after all!**

 **Disclaimer: Do I have to by this point?**

* * *

 **Part 17**

Hermione sat on her fallen tree, biting her lip as she thumbed through her latest library text on dragons. Her school bag lay at her feet and her latest essay assignment sat by her thigh, though she was so mentally drained that she wanted to read something light. Besides, the essay wasn't due for another week and she had already written most of it.

A sigh left her lips as she heard familiar footsteps, and she turned a page.

"Still reading about dragons?" Draco said, walking up to her and carefully moving her bag before sitting at her feet. She watched as he glanced at her essay. "Is that the essay on atmosphere charms for Flitwick?"

Hermione only hummed in response. Draco soon rested his head on her leg, and Hermione placed her free hand in his hair.

"I've never seen you breathe fire," she stated simply, not bothering to look away from her book.

"That's because I've never breathed fire in your presence," he replied.

Her hand left its spot to quickly turn a page. Before Draco had time to protest, her thin fingers were threading through his blond locks, carefully and methodically, again.

"What color are the flames?" She asked, feeling reluctance from him and trying to get her massage to coerce him to answering her. He was only silent for about a minute.

"I don't actually see much in the way of color as a dragon," he admitted, shifting slightly. Hermione looked down from her book and was met with startling silver eyes. "I see aura's instead. So, I don't know the color.

Intrigue flared up in Hermione's mind. "Aura's?"

"Yours was gold, which I found to be so typical," he snorted, earning him a light smack on the head.

"That just means I'm worth a lot," she commented with pursed lips before turning back to her book, which caused her to miss the light smile that lit up Draco's features.

"You keep telling yourself that, love," he joked.

To an outsider, their smiles would have appeared to be nearly identical.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

"Just warning you," Ginny said as she fell into step beside Hermione, who was making her way to the Gryffindor tower, "Harry has been looking for you and when I let him know where you were, he got a bit closed-off."

Hermione sighed, but nodded. Of course he would be closed off. He had only been in the loop for a total of three days. That isn't enough time for anyone, least of all a hot-headed teenager, to accept something so monumental.

Walking side by side, the two Gryffindors made their way up to the common room, making small talk, and only paused to tell the Fat Lady their password.

The portrait opened with a swoosh and the two ducked into the passage.

"Harry," Hermione called out as she caught sight of his messy head of hair. He glanced up at her and grinned, almost apologetically.

"Hey, 'Mione," he said. With the sheepish look he had on his face, Hermione was on to him in a matter of seconds.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"Please look over my potions homework?"

Ginny giggled, and Hermione glared at her. "Fine," the brunette said, rolling her eyes, "but I'm not just going to give you the answers."

"I know."

Hermione shook her head before sitting down and glancing over a piece of parchment with Harry's messy handwriting littering it.

To be honest, she was so glad that they were back to this, even if it felt like they were pretending just a little. The period of time when the two were avoiding each other took a larger toll on her emotions than she had thought. However, since they had gotten together and explained what was going on, things had finally started to get better.

Now, all they had to do was make sure Harry was able to assimilate to the Soldiers for Silver and truly be accepting of their cause.

And also make sure he didn't die on any of his excursions with Dumbledore. Apparently, Voldemort, though still considered dead by the vast majority of the population, had been working on trying to achieve eternal life during his glory days. Dumbledore had enlisted Harry's help on destroying what Voldemort had created, which were actually the things keeping him weakly tethered to the living world.

No, Harry couldn't die on any of those excursions. Hermione was going to be sure of it.

"This actually looks pretty good," she said, smiling up at Harry, who seemed too haggard for her taste, "but rewrite these two sections." She pointed to two paragraphs. "I'll read them after you're finished."

Harry gave a sigh but was soon doing as he was told, leaving Hermione to sit and contemplate everything that was going on, her eyes staring straight into a large, roaring fire.

She didn't notice Ginny sitting beside her.

"So," the red-head said, grinning slightly, "still spending your alone time with the ferret?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow and tore her eyes away from the fire to look at Ginny. "I don't really think 'ferret,' describes him accurately," she said softly, a small smile lighting up her eyes before she was back to looking at the flames.

"Don't tell me you agree with Luna and think he's a dragon," Ginny scoffed. " 'Mione, he may be a decent fella, but he isn't that suave."

Hermione let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "I guess dragon fits him," she said with a shrug before her smile softened into a look Ginny could only describe as infatuation.

"However," she said, looking down at her hands, "I like to think of him as simply Draco."


	21. Chapter 18

**Hello friends!**

 **I'm a little sick and having a weird allergic reaction to something, so I'm a little loopy, but I couldn't wait to write and post this chapter! So... I apologize if my writing isn't super coherent.**

 **I also wrote about technology in the late 90s, which I really know nothing about... (I was born in 99, so I remember nothing...)... so bear with me please! If you are a late 90s tech expert, please let me know what I explained incorrectly!**

 **As always, please leave comments (preferably constructive criticism or questions [even if they are questions about me... or something that doesn't even relate to the fanfic or me in the slightest]) and check out my other stories! Everything else I have on this site is all one or two shots, so nothing difficult to read through XD**

 **Disclaimer: ...**

* * *

 **Part 18**

Hermione waited just as eagerly as the other twenty or so students who were waiting, in the Room of Requirement, for Ginny Weasley and Astoria Greengrass to give their presentation. No one knew what they were going to talk about, and this was the first presentation that was going to be truly given at a Soldiers for Silver meeting.

Roughly two minutes before the meeting was supposed to start, the two girls hurriedly walked into the large room, Ginny carrying a box and Astoria holding dark grey thing to her chest. Hermione wished she could see what it was, but a gentle hand on her shoulder attracted her attention away from the girls.

"You'll see what it is soon enough," Draco practically whispered from her right.

She felt Harry, who sat on her left, tense up.

Earlier in the week, Hermione had let Draco know that Harry had finally seemed to be ready to make an effort to understand their cause, and also that he also was very much on the edge about it. Draco simply nodded and told her that he would do his best to not do anything that could send Harry over the wrong side of that edge.

Hermione was a little worried that, no matter what Draco did or didn't do, Harry might end up refusing to work with or around the Slytherins.

"Alright everybody," Ginny called, setting her box down at a table Astoria had just dragged to be near the chalkboard.

"Astoria and I are going to kick our meeting off with a little bit of a show and tell," Ginny explained, glancing at Astoria, who gave a nod of affirmation. "I know that most of you here, unless you have grown up knowing the muggle world, have no idea about some of the technology that the muggles have created, and wanted to remedy that. We can't bring everything to you guys, but we do have two interesting, innovative, and helpful creations."

"First," Ginny allowed Astoria to cut in. "I'm going to show you what is called a Macintosh PowerBook 3400c."

Hermione bit the inside of her cheek as Astoria set the computer down on the table and opened it for everyone to see. Her father had been rather excited about the personal computer, but they already had a desktop in their home and didn't feel the need to buy something that they didn't need.

"This is what's known as a computer. It uses a technology that I truly can't imagine understanding after only knowing of its existence for a week, but I'll let you all in on what I do know." Astoria pressed the power button and it began its sequence of turning on. "This little machine can process and file written documents, such as essays or manuscripts, store and show both plain and moving pictures, connect to an incredible network of more information than even our library holds."

Hermione noticed a few confused looks around the room, but a few nods of understanding. Lisa Turpin, who Hermione knew to be muggle-born, looked like she desperately wanted to use the computer. Hermione felt a similar pull. Even though the wizarding world had incredible wonders, she felt a little lost without the technologies she had grown up around.

"Wait," Zacharias Smith interrupted, "muggles have moving pictures?"

Astoria grinned, turned the computer towards her, typing and clicking away, before turning the computer again so the screen faced everyone. "Muggles have had moving pictures for years, but they are slightly different than what we know to be moving pictures. Their pictures are more like story's than anything else. This, my dear witches and wizards, is called a movie."

Hermione let out a laugh at the film that had begun to play, _Liar Liar_ , a current favorite of her parents.

However, before long, Astoria paused the movie, much to the dismay of most of the students, and cleared her throat. "After the meeting, I think we should finish this movie, but we have another gadget to show you all, then a couple of proposals to make."

Ginny stepped forward, her box in hand, and Astoria stepped back.

"I'm going to send this box around and each of you are going to grab one of the things inside. They are all the same, minus the outside design, so don't worry too much about not knowing what you're grabbing."

Hermione raised an eyebrow as Draco took the box and pulled a dark red thing out of it. The box was in front of her, and she almost giggled when she saw that it was full of Tamagotchis. Without really thinking about it, she grabbed a light green one and sent the box to Harry, who let out a light chuckle.

Before long, the box had made it back to Ginny, who pulled a purple one out and showcased it to the group.

"This little thing is called a Tamagotchi. It's a game, of sorts, where you hatch a pet and care for it. It serves no other purpose than a light happiness. The goal is to keep your pet both happy and healthy as it grows up. I'm going to ask you to just play with it. Have fun. Show others, too. We have extra and can get more, so don't be afraid to grab a couple extra to give out."

Astoria quickly stepped back up to the table. "Alright. Now that we have shown you two things, one a practical device for learning, enjoyment, and documenting, and the other a simple, happy joy, I'm going to ask, by a raise of hands, who thinks that we could use some of these things in our lives."

Hermione wasn't surprised to see everyone raise their hands.

"Beautiful," Astoria smiled, "Then how would you all feel about trying to bring more technology to our school as a whole, maybe starting with a movie night? It is possible to get what is displayed here," she gestured to the computer, which was still open to a scene of _Liar Liar_ , "onto a bigger screen for more to enjoy."

There were a couple of nods and Hermione even noticed a few students saying things like, "yeah!" and "definitely."

"Perfect. Then I will get right on arranging that. I'm also going to look in to figuring out how we can get the internet to Hogwarts, though I don't know how soon that will be happening" Astoria nodded.

"If there isn't anything anyone wants to say or ask, then let's press play on the movie, yeah?" Ginny asked and, when nobody stopped to say anything, quickly pressed play, allowing everyone to watch a muggle moving picture.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

Hermione walked into the Great Hall, her mind still slightly muddled from sleep. She was met a bunch of students doing two things: eating breakfast, and playing with little, tiny, hand-held devises.

"Hermione!" Lavender Brown cried out, a hot pink Tamagotchi curled into her fingers. "You're a muggleborn. How long have you guys been holding this thing from us?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow before sitting down at her seat. "I'm going to answer that with another question, since you're a pureblood. How long have you guys been hiding magic away from those in the muggle world?"


	22. Chapter 19

**Hello my friends. I'm sorry it took me so long to update! It's been what... five days? I usually update on Tuesday (I think...) and its Friday night... So sorry!**

 **Ok. So a friend of mine pointed out that it is (sorta canonically) believed that technology doesn't work on Hogwarts grounds and, when taking someone's expectations and breaking them, ya should explain why ya did it, so I'm going to explain how some things work in my universe (all of which could be canon... we don't know exactly...)**

 **The rules I set for myself, when introducing and using technology in this story, is based on two things.**

 **1\. Colin Creevey's Camera... (he has a muggle camera that works completely fine around so much magic. In fact, I believe it is even stated in the books that his camera begins to run off of magical energy instead of batteries, which... in my opinion... means it works even better in a magical environment! When thinking about technology, I wanted my story to include how muggle technology actually adapts itself to work with the magic! While some things might not work as well, others might end up working better!)**

 **2\. General Pureblooded arrogance... (this is my feelings on the matter... but I feel like the main reason there isn't technology at Hogwarts... despite how it probably could help advance magic and learning... is that wizards thing their way is the best and muggles are under them. Unfortunately, even though Arthur Weasley has a fascination with muggles and their customs, it's still just a fun thing for him to mess around with, or make 'better' with magic {I'm not harping on Arthur... I love him... it's just how the entire race was raised})**

 **Hopefully my rules made some semblance of sense to you! Please comment any questions or problems you may have with my logic! (also... I may have left something out? I don't know... I hope I got it all... I'm tired)**

 **As always, let me know what you think of the story. This is a little bit of a filler chapter, a little shorter... The next one is probably going to be a little heavier because the S.F.S are moving along. Their revolution has started and they want to keep it going!**

 **Disclaimer: Please?**

* * *

 **Part 19**

"My Tama-thing is dying!" a distraught Padma Patil wailed as she slumped on to a bench at the Gryffindor table, setting a hot-pink electronic device in front of Hermione, who raised her eyebrow.

"Have you been feeding it?" Hermione questioned, turning away from Padma and to her porridge only to have Padma gasp beside her.

"You have to feed it?" She asked, quickly snatched the pink Tamagotchi off of the table and pressing buttons furiously, biting her lip, causing Hermione to roll her eyes.

"Yes, Padma. That is the whole point. To take care of it," a new voice said. Parvati sat down next to her sister. "You're a Ravenclaw. You should've been able to figure that out."

Padma huffed and began filling a plate, obviously not caring that she wasn't sitting at her own house's table. No one seemed to mind either. No one even seemed to notice. That didn't change when Padma called out to Susan Bones, who was passing by, saying, "You're supposed to feed them!"

Susan quickly sat beside Padma. No one batted an eye.

Hermione glanced up and took a cursory glance around the Great Hall, feeling excitement bubble underneath her skin as she realized that there was more conversation happening in the room. It wasn't just happening among housemates, but through the entire school. The only table that wasn't involved was the Slytherin table.

That is, until Lisa Turpin stood up, holding her grey Tamagotchi high above her head and shouted, "Astoria! Mine grew wings!"

Silence blanketed the entire hall for just a moment. Hermione even heard Padma inhale sharply and felt Susan stiffen.

Astoria glanced up from her breakfast before digging into her bag and pulling out her own little device. "Mine has a cavity," she announced before giggling to herself. "apparently there is such a thing as too many sweets."

The silence was still heavy, but started to ease when Blaise snatched Astoria's Tamagotchi from her hand and pressed a button. "You're supposed to take it to the dentist, Tory," he said and the Great Hall began to slowly slip back into it's normal state of loud chaos. "That way, you can feed it all the sweets you want"

Hermione bit her lip and turned her attention away from Blaise and Astoria, as everyone began to relax, and she caught Draco staring in her direction. He gave Hermione a soft smile. The change had started.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat dinner at a table that isn't theirs, unless it's holiday."

Hermione glanced into her clearing to see Draco sitting on her fallen tree, his legs crossed and a book dangling listlessly in his hand as Hermione took a moment to realize what he had said. It was true. If there's one thing that happened rarely, it's intercommunication between the houses at dinner.

"You're in my seat," Hermione said in lieu of replying.

Draco chuckled, "then take my seat instead."

He gestured to the spot just off to his left, where he generally sat, with his book. Hermione raised her eyebrow but didn't see the harm in complying. With a shrug she walked over to him and sat down, only hesitating for a split second before lying her head down on his lap, assuming the position Draco normally took.

She shouldn't have been surprised when he laid a hand on her head and began gently massaging her head, carefully threading fingers through her unruly curls.

It was a while before Hermione noticed that the sun was setting, casting shadows over their clearing, and she had half a mind to stand up and drag Draco out of the forest before night fell entirely.

"This feels good," she murmured softly, closing her eyes, resolving not to move just yet and earning a small laugh from Draco.

"Why do you think I like it so much?" He asked, shifting his hands slightly so he was massaging down her neck.

"I don't do that."

Draco was laughing again, but kept up his movements, being sure not to pull any of her hair as he rubbed down her neck and shoulders. "I thought you could use a little extra relaxation," he said softly, "a bit of a reward for all the stress that you've endured lately."

Hermione sighed softly. "Thank you, Draco."

They remained silent for a moment, Draco setting his book down so he could hold her hair up with one hand and massage her with the other.

It was another few minutes before Hermione took a deep breath, moving slightly, bringing her arms up to rest on his legs and her chin to rest on her arms so she could look up at him.

"We should go back up to the castle," She said quietly, latching onto his grey eyes. He didn't answer for a moment. Instead he let her hair fall out of his hand and tucked a loose strand behind her ear.

"You're probably right," he replied, giving her a smile before standing up slow enough for her to anticipate his movements and shift away from him. After he was on his feet, he held his hand out to her and she took it, standing up somewhat ungracefully.

Hermione thanked him, not wanting to lose his warmth by letting go of his hand. So, she stayed still long enough for Draco to notice her hesitation.

"Want to go for a flight first?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow, keeping her hand in his. Hermione smiled.

"I'd like that."


	23. Chapter 20

**Hello Lovelies! It's been a week, yeah? Sorry for taking so long! It's the end of the semester, so life is pretty hectic right now, but I'll try and remain active!**

 **This chapter was soooooo difficult to write, but it's a bit longer than my last ones, so I'm pretty proud of myself!**

 **As always, please review (I REACHED 100 REVIEWS LAST WEEK! I'M SO EXCITED!) and check out my other stories!**

 **Disclaimer: I'm like... 18... do you really think I own HP?**

* * *

 **Part 20**

Hermione glanced around the Room of Requirement, the amount of new faces astounding her. She figured that after the Tamagotchi's were passed around, people must've been easier to recruit. She was so happy about it, but it also made her a little nervous. If so much of the school was filtering over to their side, then people like Theodore Nott might be compelled to strike against them, and she couldn't have that.

" 'Mione?" Harry asked, nudging her shoulder and bringing her out of her head. She slowly turned to Harry, giving him a light smile.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You were zoning out. Just got me a little worried."

"You don't have to worry Harry," she quickly replied, knowing that last time he was 'worried,' he stalked her into the forest and threatened her. She shifted in her seat, forcing herself to stop that train of thought. Though, by looking at the way Harry's green eyes fell, she could tell he knew what she was thinking.

"Everything's alright, yeah?" she said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and he nodded. He looked as if he were about to say more, but Lisa Turpin cleared her throat. Harry frowned and turned away from Hermione, directing his attention towards the presentation. Hermione quickly followed suite, taking note that Draco had yet to sit beside her.

"Hello friends," Lisa called out, her wand to her throat enacting the Sonorous charm. "Justin and I have prepared a slight presentation on the history of muggles, wizards, and the overlapping of the two worlds."

Hermione held in a laugh. Leave it to a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw to present a history lesson. Not that she was upset about it. Quite on the contrary. A history lesson could be exactly what they need right now.

However, Hermione found that the material was mostly things she knew and, with the empty chair beside her, found it hard to concentrate on the presentation.

It looked like she was one of the only ones that was zoning out when she took a glance around the room, so she wasn't nervous about the lesson. She was nervous for Draco. Where was he?

The next ten minutes felt like eternity.

Hermione tried to focus on how it is consistently seen, throughout history, for muggles to know of wizards during war time, and for the two races to band together only for the wizards to wipe memories afterwards, and...

Hermione sighed, looking down at her hands, feeling more restless by the second, wishing something could take her mind off her worry.

Roughly two minutes later, the door to the Room of Requirement burst open and Severus Snape strode through the opening, his black robes billowing out behind him.

Silence descended on the room as Snape walked into the middle of the room and glance around, his normally cold eyes slightly widened in concern. He locked his gaze on Hermione, and she felt Harry tense up beside her.

"Miss Granger," he said in a slightly faster than normal tone. "I will be needing you to come with me."

Harry stood up quickly, knocking his chair over, and stepping between Hermione and Snape, prepared to say something, only to be quieted by Snape raising a single hand that asked for silence.

"It's about Mr. Malfoy," Snape added.

Hermione sucked in a sharp breath and stood up. Harry stepped in front of her, his eyes flashing.

"Hermione," he warned, glancing back at Snape almost menacingly. Hermione simply sighed and set a hand on his shoulder, pushing him aside gently.

"Harry, please keep the meeting in order," she said softly, looking past Harry and studying Snape. He looked worried. He looked far more worried than she had ever seen him. "Instruct Lisa and Justin to continue. Tell them I'll handle whatever this is."

She saw confusion cross over Harry's features and was slightly relieved when he nodded. After seeing his consent, she turned her attention back to Snape, who had started on his way out of the room, and quickly followed him.

She quietly followed Snape, hurrying along behind him, for nearly a floor and a half, before she gave thought to where they were going. As she recognized their path, her heart dropped.

"Professor," she called out. Snape seemed to jerk a little, halted his steps to look back at her with shifting eyes, and continued walking as if he hadn't stopped.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Where are we headed?" Oh she hoped she was wrong.

Snape's shoulders tensed up and he picked up his pace. "The Hospital Wing."

She wasn't wrong.

"Why?"

"There was an incident concerning the Soldiers for Silver movement. Draco and two other Slytherins are there right now." His voice broke when he said Draco's name. It almost caused Hermione to question the fact that he knew about the movement.

Almost.

"You know of the Soldiers for Silver?"

"Of course, you insolent girl," Snape snapped, though quickly took a calming breath and rolled his shoulders back. "Draco is my godson. He runs everything by me." His voice was a little softer, though it seemed as if he were straining to keep it that way.

Hermione bit her lip and looked down.

"Is he okay?" she asked nervously, speeding up so she could walk beside Snape. He glanced at her and she swore she almost saw tears in his eyes.

"Let's hope so."

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

"And that's when Draco stepped in?" Hermione heard Dumbledore ask as she and Snape entered the Hospital Wing. She quickly surveyed the beds, finding all of them empty besides one that held a sleeping and slightly battered Theodore Nott, one that was hidden behind a curtain, and one containing a first-year Slytherin. Professor Dumbledore sat in the chair beside the eleven-year-old, and Professor McGonagall stood nearby.

Madame Pomphrey was nowhere to be seen.

"Sir," Snape called to Dumbledore, who glanced up at the two new entries to the room.

"Ah. Miss Granger," He said in his typical, breathy voice. "Thank you for bringing her, Severus. I believe Poppy could use your help now."

Severus nodded and strode to the back room, his eyes directed straight ahead. Hermione watched him while Dumbledore called out to her.

"Professor," she said, her eyes flickering from the doorway Snape just walked through, to the curtained-off bed. "What happened?"

Instead of answering Hermione, Dumbledore stood up and offered up his seat to her. As she sat down, the old man instructed the boy in the bed, Sebastian Daley, to tell her what he told him before he placed a hand on Professor McGonagall's shoulder and the pair of them left the room, leaving Hermione alone with the boy, the unconscious Nott, and the curtained bed that had to hold Draco. She wished she could see him, but instead she turned her attention to the first year.

"D-do you want me t-to tell you what h-happened, Miss G-Granger?" The boy stuttered. He had a bandage on his forehead and a wrap on his wrist, but that isn't what set Hermione off. No, it was the fear in his eyes.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble for you," she replied softly, giving the boy an encouraging smile.

He nodded and looked down at his hands.

"I was p-planning on going to your meeting," he started, his voice shaky, "but Nott d-didn't want me too. He was forceful, r-really forceful, and even threw me against a w-wall. He p-pulled his wand out. I t-thought he was g-going to k-kill me."

The boy started crying and Hermione reached out to place her hand on his arm, frowning.

"Then Malfoy s-saved me. T-told me to run. So, I did. I f-found Professor S-Snape and told him what happened."

Sebastian looked up at Hermione, his lower lip trembling as he brought a sleeve covered hand to wipe at his eyes.

"W-when we got back to them, Malfoy was b-bleeding, and Nott was unconscious. Malfoy collapsed on the w-way here. I d-don't think he has woken up y-yet. I'm s-sorry."

Hermione's frown deepened and she gently rubbed his arm.

"There's no need to apologize," she said softly before glancing over at the curtained-off bed. "You did a good job."

"B-but I didn't stay and h-help him," Sebastian cried, dropping his face to his hands. "He s-saved me and I r-ran."

"It's okay," Hermione whispered. "You did a good job. You found Snape. It'll be okay."

The boy's crying quieted down a little. Hermione kept her hand on his arm, but her gaze remained on the white curtain.

"It'll be okay."


	24. Chapter 21

**Hello friends!**

 **Sorry for going MIA for a while. School has been really busy and I've been working really hard to try and get this internship (that I got!) that was pretty tough in terms of competition, so I've been focusing on all of that.**

 **I kissed a guy tonight - a stranger.. It's a tradition at my school! Unfortunately, the guy couldn't kiss and he missed... my lips... got my chin on the first time.. my nose on the second time. It was... I'm pretty sure I was his first kiss and I'm thinking about letting him actually take me on a date so I can teach him how to properly kiss (I would have tried harder today, but he was insistent on keeping both of them at a simple peck and I couldn't get him in the right place... sigh...**

 **Anyways, have a chapter!**

 **As always, please leave me comments and what not! I love constructive criticism and getting new ideas!**

 **Also... I'm doing one-shot requests! So give me a pairing and a situation/small prompt/idea and I'll write it out for you!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything... I literally have $4 to my name...**

 **(If you get a notification saying this updated, it's because someone very lovely pointed out a very silly mistake of mine (I... misspelled Nott's name) and I felt like fixing it... That is all)**

* * *

Part 21

Hermione bit her lip as she stared at the cream curtain that surrounded the bed. Madam Pomphrey had told her, roughly ten minutes ago, that Draco was asleep but well enough for Hermione to see him.

After the medi-witch left her with some privacy, Hermione stood up and started to walk to where Draco lay, but she stopped before she could get there. Her hand periodically twitched as if to reach for the curtain, but she kept holding herself back. She was scared. She was scared that he was going to be horribly injured. She was scared that he wasn't going to wake up. She was scared that she was showing weakness.

A light groan sounded from behind the curtain and Hermione set her jaw and pulled the cream-colored fabric aside, quickly pushing herself towards his bed.

Draco lay under the hospital bed's sheet, his body looking whole, no limbs missing. That's good. That was all that was good, though. Dark purple bruising circled his neck and climbed up his face. His skin, the places not affect by bruises, was paler than normal and he had a bandage over his head, red seeping through the white.

Both of his hands sat on top of the sheets. He had bandages across his left shoulder and a lime green glow surrounding his right arm from his elbow down. Hermione sank to the chair beside his bed, folded her arms on the edge of the mattress, and dropped her head, her breath leaving her chest.

If Madam Pomphrey couldn't even get him to look like his normal self, then Knot must have used dark magic, which didn't surprise Hermione. It just worried her.

She barely noticed the feeling of pressure behind her eyes and the way her chest moved with a sob.

"The mademoiselle is crying," a weak voice said, and Hermione let out a small gasp, raising her head to meet Draco's silver eyes. "may I ask why?"

Another sob slipped past her lips, though she quickly covered her lips with one hand and wiped at her cheeks with her other hand.

"You're awake?" she asked, her hands remaining in their raised positions.

"Obviously."

"Don't be rude," she said with no malice in her voice, "I've been worried sick."

Draco sighed, wincing as he moved his left hand to reach for her.

She met him halfway, placing her warm hands over his too-hot one, and guided it back to its resting spot on his bed.

"You've been out for hours," she murmured, looking down at their hands. "Madam Pomphrey wouldn't let me see you. Nott even woke up before you."

Draco's hand immediately clenched beneath hers and she glanced up to see his face hardened in a scowl.

"They put a spell on the curtains around his bed. I don't know what they are going to do with him," Hermione explained, biting her lip. "They won't excuse deliberate attacking and use of dark magic."

His jaw was still set, and he wasn't meeting her eye.

"Draco," she murmured, moving one of her hands to rest gently on his cheek bruised. He relaxed at that, though the fever that she felt under her palm sent her to another level of worry.

"Can you help me sit up?" he asked, flicking his eyes up to meet hers. She bit her lip, worried if he really should be propped up, but nodded anyway before standing up, slipping her hands under his shoulders, and helping him sit up. She quickly conjured a couple of pillows behind his back before setting him gently on them.

He let out a small sigh of relief when he relaxed, and Hermione knew that he had been holding back sounds of pain so she wouldn't be worried.

"Thanks," he managed, looking up at Hermione with a small smile on his lip, reaching his left hand up again to touch her cheek, holding in a wince. "Do you think you could do me another favor Hermione?"

Hermione blinked twice before nodding, her hands resting near his shoulder, feeling her cheeks heat up as his fingertips brushed a few stray curls behind her ear.

"Would you kiss me?"

Hermione blinked twice again, her eyes a little wide as all cognitive function seemed to stop working.

Draco's hand slowly moved away from her, dropping slowly to his side, and he cast his gaze down. "I apologize," he started, his voice soft and still sounding weak. "I should-"

His next words were cut off when Hermione leaned down and pressed their lips together, her eyes shut and fresh tears on her cheeks. Their kiss only lasted a moment. Soon Hermione was pulling away, her red-rimmed eyes trained on him.

"You're crying again," he commented, seeming surprised. Hermione was glad to see a little healthy color on his pale skin.

"And you are completely daft," she replied before moving in for another kiss.

* * *

 **A/N 2.0: Not gonna lie... I'm glad I wrote this before my whole kissing fiasco because... this chapter would have turned out differently, I'm sure..**


	25. Update 4

Hello my loves.

I am so sorry! I know I said I'd be good about updating and what not, but unfortunately I just havent had the time (I will later this week, but just not yet..).. I just recently finished my finals (I GOT As IN ALL OF MY CLASSES except the one I got an A- in) and also started a fulltime job (during finals week. I was dying) and it's taken so much out of me. However, I'm finally starting to settle and I really should have a new chapter out to you all before next week starts!

Forgive me?

(Also... I dont remember... did I leave you guys on a cliffhanger? If I did, I am SO SORRY! ! ! )

Love you all!

-Little Miss Slytherclaw

* * *

 **AN 2.0: Hello Luvs!**

 **I just wanted to let you know that... yes... I'll update this tomorrow... and also that I am now a part of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition as the Seeker for the Falmouth Falcons.**

 **I will be posting a lot of one shots, I'm sure, so please read them and review and what not. The first challenge was tonight, so my newest story, Red (please read?), was uploaded to be judged.**

 **This will not affect the continuation of this story. If anything, it will prompt me to update more often! So please do not worry!**

 **I love you all!**

 **-Little Miss Slytherclaw**


	26. Chapter 22

**Hello friends. (beware of the long AN. Feel free to skip it and go straight to the chapter)**

 **I know I said I would get you a chapter before Monday, but you'll have to just deal with me being a day late :p**

 **Life is currently insane. I worked 14 hours today, and 10 yesterday. I sorta feel like I'm dying?**

 **Add a decent sized bruise to my cheek...**

 **A dislocated ankle...**

 **And a blow to the heart...**

 **...And that's a little, tiny slice into my offline life. It's just been a rough two days on top of a decently hard couple of weeks on top of a crappy semester. It was actually really hard for me to write what was going on for Hermione and not project my own emotions into it.**

 **Ever feel annoyed because you know you should be happy too? I've got a really cool job (internship actually) and some crazy opportunities opening up. Add that to the fantastic people in my life and you should get a rounded, happy person, right?**

 **BTW..My friend let me know that I have nearly 300 people following this story? Like. What? You guys are incredible and I can't believe so many of you are sticking with me!**

 **I love you all!**

 **Enough rambling/complaining. Here's the chapter. Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for any part of this fic!**

 **Disclaimer: Do I have to do this anymore?**

* * *

 **Part 22**

Hermione woke up to hushed voices talking urgently. There was a pale blue glow to the room, a sign of how late it was in the night, and it took Hermione some time before she realized where she was.

Her back ached awkwardly as she sat up properly in her chair, and she had to stretch the crick in her neck slowly or else, she somehow knew, it would hurt even worse. She had been using a mix between the hospital wing's bed and Draco's hand as a pillow.

Her eyes flicked over to the Slytherin, who was sleeping rather peacefully. He looked better now than he did before they both had fallen asleep, but the bruising on his face was still colorful and he was still covered in bandages.

When had they fallen asleep?

' _After we kissed,'_ Hermione thought, a fresh blush setting her cheeks aglow. Of course, they had talked a little more after their kiss, but not about much.

"He should be tried as an adult," a voice whispered, failing to do so quietly. Hermione frowned. So this is what had woken her up? Biting her lip, she inched towards the drawn curtain, wanting to be able to hear better, but also not wanting to get caught.

"He's just a child Minerva," Madame Pomphrey scolded.

"He's seventeen and performing dark magic on students!"

Hermione frowned and leaned closer to the curtain. They were talking about Nott, quite obviously. She wanted nothing more than to vocalize her agreement with the points Professor McGonagall was making.

"Minerva," Dumbledore interjected. Hermione could see the outline of him placing a gentle hand on the Head of Gryffindor's shoulder. "You know the situation is more complicated than that."

Hermione made a small face, her eyebrows tightening and her lips pursing. Maybe the situation was more complicated, but didn't the safety of Hogwart's students matter?

"And you do too, Miss Granger," Dumbledore added, turning towards the curtain. Hermione's eyes widened. She should've expected the wizened old man to be able to catch her snooping, but he had never called her, or any of her friends, out in previous situations that were so similar.

"I supposed I must, Professor," Hermione replied quietly, glancing at Draco to make sure he was still asleep before slipping past the curtain and coming face to face with Professor Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, Sprout, and Madam Pomphrey. So, the whole lot of them were there? Hermione frowned slightly. Why were they gathering here when they had enchanted studies that would keep their conversation more private?

That is—Hermione had to stifle a gasp—unless they wanted someone to hear them?

"I would like to ask you what you think the best course of action is, Miss Granger," Dumbledore spoke, and Hermione glanced up to see his clear-blue eyes twinkling under his half-moon spectacles. The look on his face answered her suspicions: he had directed the conversation here because he knew she would try and listen in.

What a cunning old man.

Hermione took a glance at all of the professors: McGonagall was looking rather indignant. She wasn't going to be changing her mind any time soon. Sprout was frowning, but looked just as concerned as Madam Pomphrey. Snape had his jaw set, but Hermione could tell he was worried too. What he was worried about, she had no clue. Flitwick honestly just looked tired. It had to be far past midnight.

"Well," she started slowly, turning her gaze back to Dumbledore, "from a logical standpoint, he should be expelled and tried as an adult because he is of legal age, despite him still being a student."

Dumbledore's eyes were still twinkling. He knew she wasn't done.

"However," she continued, sighing as she glanced behind her at Draco's curtained bed, "He is only seventeen with his full life ahead of him. Also, we have to take into account what sort of family he grew up in. I feel like it is safe to assume that he grew up under the influence of the death eaters and dark arts, and to some people that can be very overwhelming and controlling."

She winced and adjusted her robes, still feeling relatively tired, but also knowing she had to say what was in her head.

"What would be best for Nott, and the school alike if things go well, is reformation. Restricting magic, possibly, when he is not in class or is not near a mentor, might be useful. Most importantly, we need to show Nott what our side has to offer. We are forgiving. We want everyone to be able to live together."

She took a deep breath as she stopped talking and, by the way Dumbledore was smiling at her, she seemed to have done a good job. But she wasn't finished yet.

"It is necessary to note that any more repeat offenses will not be tolerated. If he continues on in this fashion, endangering the students, then a proper trial may be a requirement," she finished, seeing McGonagall nod out of the corner of her eye. Dumbledore seemed slightly hesitant at first, and Hermione knew that he would have a hard time giving up on a brilliant young mind like that, but she could also see that he knew it would be necessary.

"If no one has objections," Dumbledore said, turning to the group of professors, none of which seemed too be having any objections, "then I believe this matter is settled. Severus, perhaps you and I can work out the details of this arrangement in the morning?"

Snape nodded, glancing at Nott's bed before turning to Dumbledore. "Of course," he stated simply.

The Headmaster smiled before reaching into his robe, carefully pulling out a handful of yellow candies. "Lemon drop?" he offered Hermione, giving the Gryffindor a wink as if to tell her that she answered well.

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

"You look exhausted," Ginny stated from the couch in front of the fire as Hermione slipped into the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione rolled her eyes and flopped down beside the redhead. "Why are you still up?" she asked, ignoring the younger girl's comment.

"Everyone was worried, so I offered to stay up just in case you needed someone."

Hermione's eyes softened, and she looked to the flames. Had everyone truly been worried? It wasn't like she had been going anywhere unsafe, so they must have realized it would be her emotions that were hit the hardest.

"How did the rest of the meeting go?" she asked, changing the subject again. She started to chew on the inside of her cheek.

"Everyone was pretty tense, but they are all good people, so the time spent there wasn't deconstructive," Ginny explained with a shrug. "Is Malfoy okay?"

Hermione was unable to stop the blush that ghosted her cheeks. "There was an altercation between him and Nott, and he took a few, nasty curses, but he will be ok."

She tried to keep her story short and report like, but Ginny knew her to well.

"What happened?" the redhead asked, shifting on the sofa so she was hugging her knees and looking expectantly at Hermione, who gave a small sigh.

"Nott attacked some first year Slytherin who wanted to be a part of-"

"Not with Nott," Ginny interrupted quickly, her voice tinged with excitement. "What happened between you and Draco?"

Hermione felt her blush deepen. "Oh."

"Oh what?" Ginny was leaning into Hermione now. "Come on. Spill."

Giving a slightly nervous laugh, she looked at Ginny, her eyes shining and a smile dancing on her lips.

"We kissed."

The squeal that Ginny gave must have woken someone up, but she didn't seem to care. "About time!" she said with a triumphant laugh. "Now, tell me everything."

* * *

 **AN 2.0: I'm going to give you guys a mission.**

 **PM me with a prompt. It can be anywhere from 1 to 100 words (I guess it could be more, but at that point you are practically writing a fic XD) and over the next couple of weeks I'll be including those prompts in my writing, most likely as a one-shot. Please indicate in your PM if you would like to be mentioned when I post the writing that goes to your prompt!**

 **Please take on this mission. I'm going to start writing after work (in this really nice place to write downtown) and I'm a little rusty so I could use some help getting some things, even if they are just little, off the ground.**

 **Thanks!**


	27. Chapter 23

**Hello my lovelies!**

 **Work is crazy, as usual, but life isn't quite as messy as it was last week!**

 **I'm still a little heartbroken, and I'm always in physical pain (look up EDS if you are bored. It's a genetic disorder. Here's a hint: I have it), but it's nothing I can't handle!**

 **I've received a couple of prompts (actually... three... ) that I'm going to play with. I'll be turning them into one-shots, so look out for those! Also, please give me more! Either PM me or leave your prompt (of 1 - 100 words) in a comment! Be sure to let me know if you want me to include you in the AN when I post the one-shot for your prompt!**

 **I'm still the seeker for the Falmouth Falcons. Everyone is doing such a great job! Y'all should go give some support to everyone!**

 **Disclaimer: I think Queen Rowling wrote chapters longer than 1,000 words... just sayin'**

* * *

 **Part 23**

"For the love of Merlin," Harry yelled, swiveling around to face the small group. "You have to be kidding me!"

Harry, red-faced and enraged, seemed to glare at Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Draco, and Blaise, each teenager getting a glimpse of the fire behind his eyes. They were gathered in the Hospital Wing. It had been two days since the accident and Nott had been moved back to the Slytherin common room just ten minutes prior.

Draco was still bed ridden. It seemed as if the dark magic Nott had used would still take some time to clear up. The group huddled around his bed, Harry pacing angrily at the foot.

"Relax Potter," Blaise tried, lifting his hands up, as if that would help him reason with Harry.

"No. I will not relax!" he yelled back to the Slytherin, earning him a glare from Madame Pomphrey. Harry glared right back; it wasn't like she had any patients other than Draco.

"Harry," Hermione started, much like Blaise had. She went as far as to put a hand on his arm.

He quickly brushed her away, causing her to shrink back a little. They had been doing well, but not all of the wounds that Harry created had healed.

The hand that Harry brushed away was quickly picked up by Draco.

"No, Hermione," Harry said, his eyes traveling down to her hand in the Slytherin's. His shoulders sagged just a little, but not as much as Hermione expected them to. "He is going after first years! That isn't okay!"

Hermione watched as the raven-haired boy dropped his shoulders even lower and look at her with big puppy-dog eyes.

"And he hurt one of our own. I can't let that slide."

A silence descended on the group at his words. Ron's jaw probably dropped, but Hermione was too stricken to notice if it had.

Draco tightened his grip, ever so slightly, on Hermione's hand, and she glanced down at him. He was looking at her with an expression she had never seen before. Of course, there was bafflement, but also something more. He looked vulnerable.

Harry had called Draco one of them.

Hermione gave Draco a small smile before turning back to Harry.

"Believe me," she started, her voice soft. She understood where his anger was coming from, so she would be gentle, but she also knew that he had to let the anger go. "I want him to pay for what he did as well."

Everyone was silent as Hermione and Harry entered into some sort of staring contest. A battle of morals, possibly. Both of them kept their gaze, both of them had passion behind their eyes. She needed him to see that they both were on the same side.

"But isn't everyone worth helping?" she finally said and Harry broke their eye contact. "He may be acting out, but how has he been hurt before? How is he being threatened now? What can we do to help him?"

Harry heaved a great sigh and Hermione felt Draco squeeze her hand gently.

"We once thought Draco was beyond goodness," Hermione continued, prompting Harry to look back up. This time, he met eyes with the aforementioned Slytherin. "But we were wrong, and look how long it took us to get past that mistake."

"You're right, 'Mione," Harry murmured, green eyes flicking to meet her brown once more. He was hesitant, eyebrows furrowed as he thought. "We have to be better this time."

/-|-/-|-\\-|-\

"The school is buzzing with news of Nott, but nobody knows exactly what happened."

The relatively excited voice surprised Hermione, but she managed to refrain from jumping and instead simply turned to the speaker, her feet continuing their path to the charms classroom.

Astoria's blonde hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and she had a grin on her face. Hermione frowned.

"You seem awfully excited," Hermione said carefully, shifting the book bag that was over her shoulder.

"Incredibly so," Astoria responded before bounding up to the Gryffindor and wrapping her arm around Hermione. They were now walking side by side—on their way to class. Hermione bit her lip as she glanced around.

Was the school ready for this, especially so close to the Nott incident?

"Nobody knows exactly what happened," Astoria reiterated, her excitement evident in her voice. "The common knowledge is that Nott was physically fighting Draco. One common rumor is that it's over a girl, another is that one of them has switched sides in this ongoing war of good and evil."

A giggle sounded off to Hermione's left and soon Lisa Turpin was walking beside them.

"Little do they know that it's a bit of both!" the Ravenclaw laughed, nudging her shoulder against Hermione's.

"It's time to make Soldier's for Silver an official club," said a third voice. Hannah Abbot pushed something into Hermione's hands, a thick piece of parchment.

"Except, with the violence that Nott brought, I propose we change the name to something that promotes unity. Soldiers may bring peace, but they are still associated with war. While there might be one brewing, we would rather provide both safety and the illusion of safety."

Hannah spoke while Hermione looked down at what was in her hands. The words "One House Opening Social" were scripted elegantly at the top and a girl and boy sketched with ink, but animated with magic, danced across the bottom of the page. Information regarding the time and location of the social flashed different details every time Hermione looked at it.

"Place holder ink," Daphne Greengrass said, pointing to the ever flickering details as she joined the conversation. "If we confirm the idea and the rest of the information, I can solidify it."

Hermione gave a nod of understanding before looking up at the group of girls that had gathered around her.

Astoria grinned at Hermione. "By going public with this, we can confirm that not all Slytherins are on the wrong side of the war, Draco included, and we can finally be free to have inner-house relations."

The younger Greengrass winked at Hermione before tapping on the dancing couple with her index finger.

"This social will be the perfect place to ease tension for some of those who aren't already a part of us, especially if the Princess of the Lions and the Prince of the Snakes go together as a happy little couple."


	28. Update 5

Ok friends. I'm sorry, but this is not an official update. I thought I could manage not doing one in between my posting, but it has been so long since I last posted a chapter and its gonna be a long time coming (and by that I mean at least another week, possibly two. Hopefully no more than that, tbh. I need to write!)

Quick update on my life...

I average about 60 hours a week working.

40 in an office

10 (ish) babysitting

And at least 10 on the computer trying desperately to catch up on my freelance design and writing projects.

The rest of my time is spent writing my book, blog, and fanfiction (which I've only had time to write for the Quidditch League and not anything else. Sorry guys).

Needless to say, I work a lot and am barely managing any decent amounts of sleep, which is hard because of insomnia. I feel like a lot of 18 year olds have insomnia? Is it just a part of growing up?

Anyway... my life has gotten harder this week because I dislocated my hip. I tried going to a chiropractor, but he managed to make me worse, so now I'm living on advil and am in so much pain. Sitting at a desk for 8 hours straight while trying to look happy for my bosses is one of the hardest things I think I've ever done. I just wanna cry, but I cant do that at my desk, so like... yeah..

Also, I'm getting my wisdom teeth removed on Friday, so I wont be coherent, which will be nice for the pain I'm currently feeling, but it wont be nice for literally every other aspect of my life..

Basically, I'm a mess. I apologize for being inactive and what not, but there's not much I can do. I cant afford to put anything above work at the moment... I'm having a hard time even putting work to the side for health. Work is winning that battle. Ugh.

And my computer wont connect to the internet. So that's been fun. I'm doing this on my phone and it feels like I'm ranting a bit. Honestly, anyone who gets this far is either really bored or likes me/is empathetic enough to deal with this crap I'm spewing.

If you want to follow my blog (which doesnt have much up yet, but will probably be a little more active than this, its

Love you all. Hopefully I'll update somewhat soon, but just dont be expecting it for at least a week.


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